



pi<i:sKNTi-:i) ID" 



5 



LIFE AND MEMOIRS 



OP 



MAJOR GENERAL LEE. 



THE 

LIFE AND MEMOIRS 

OF THE LATE 

MAJOR GENERAL LEE, 

SECOND IN COMMAND TO 

GENERAL WASHINGTON. 

9URING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 

HIS POLITICAL AND MILITARY ESSAYS. 

Also, 

LETTERS 

10 AN© FROM MANY DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS 
BOTH IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. 

NEW-YORK; 

PUBLISHED BY RICHARD SCOTT, 
276 PEARL-STREET, 

1813. 



•^ ^^oC 



/r 



iTBINTED BY LAROIN & THOMPSON, 
NO. 5 BURLING-SLIP. 






%4 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

MEMOIRS OF Major General Lee, - 13—67 

Miscellaneous Pieces, - . - - 69 — 161 
Sketch of a Plan for the Formation of a Military 

Colony, .-...._ 71 

Ad Essay on the Coup (PCEil, , - . - 80 

A Picture of the Countess of , - - 89 

An account of a Conversation, chiefly relative to the 

army, ----. ---91 

An Epistle to David Hume, Esq, - - - 101 

A Political Essay, 104 

A Breakfast for Rivington, 114 

To the People of America, 118 

To the Gentlemen of the Provincial Congress of Vir- 
ginia, 133 

On a famous trial in the Court of Common Pleas, be- 
tween General Mostyn, Governor of Minorca, and 
an Inhabitant of that Island, - - - - 1 40 
A short History of the Treatment of Major General 

Conway, late in the Service of America, - - 145 
Proposals for the Formation of a Body of Light 
Troops ready to be detached on an emergent oc- 
casion, - -150 

Some Queries, Political and Military, humbly offered 

to the consideration of the public, - - - 153 
Copy of General Lee's Will, - - - - 158 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 



Letters to General Leb from several eminent 

Characters both iu Europe and America, - 1 63 

From the Earl of Pembroke, ... - ISS 

William Banbury, 167 

— — Thomas WroughtoD, - - - - 1 69 

— — W. Paterson, 172 

Edmund Burke, - - - - - 176 

Tliomas Gamble, 17S 

Horatio Gates, ----- ib. 

____ »#»• ■**** - - _ - , -182 

' George Lux, -185 

■ An Old Friend, 186 

Alex. White, - - . - - 187 

Trevor Newland, 193 

B. Franklin, ------ 199 

— — John Adams, - • - - -201 

John Hancock, 202 

the Same, - 203 

Horatio Gates, ----- 205 

B. Franklin, 206 

— — John Hancock, 207 

G. Washington, - - - - - 208 

Thomas Burke, 211 

■ Geo. Johnson, 212 

H. Clinton, 214 

John Page, ------ ib. 

An Old Friend, 219 

G. Washington, 221 

— — the same, . - . . . 224 

Resolves of Congress, mentioned in the prece- 
ding letter, - - - - - - 225 

w- — Joseph Reed, 227 

-^ ***% -.--..- 229 

. W. Livingston, . . - . , 03^ 

• An Old Friend, 233 

— — E. Edwards, - . . , . 235 



CONTENTS. 

PAGlS. 

Letteus *rom Genkbal Lee, ... 237 

To the King of Polaud, ib. 

— the Priuce of Poland, .... 242 

— Mr. Coleman, - - - - - - 245 

— Mrs. M'Cauley. 249 

-- To Louisa C. 253 

~ Lord Thanet, .--..- 254 

— the King of Poland, 257 

— Sir C. Davers, - - - - - - 259 

— His Grace the Duke of , - - - 260 

— Gen Burgoyne, - - - - - - 263 

From J. Burgoyne to Gen. Lee, ... 269 

Gen. Lee's answer, . , . . . 274 

To Gen. Burgoyne, - - - - - ib. 

— Gen. Gage, 279 

— the Same, 281 

, . - 284 



- John Hancock, 286 

- the Same, 288 

- EdAvard Rutledge, Esq. .... 290 

- the Hon. the President of the CoTincil of Safety, 
North-Carolina, 292 

- Samuel Purviauce, Esq. .... 293 

- the Hon. the Pres. of the Committee of Safety, 294 

- His Excellency John Hancock, President of the 

Coutineotal Congress, .... 295 

- John Page Esq. V. P. of tlie Committee, - 298 

• Colonel Muhlenburg, ib. 

• Edmund Pendleton, Pres. of the Committee of 

Safety, 299 

His Excellency John Hancock, Esq. - - 302 
Edmund Pendleton, Esq. President of the Con- 
vention, 306 



308 



His Excellency, Patrick Henry, Junr. Governor 
of Virginia, 321 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

To Richard Peters, Esq. Secretary to the Board of 

War and Ordnance, .... 325 

— His Excellency John Hancock, - - - 331 

— the Board of Ordnance, .... 331 

— the Governor of Cape Francois, ... 335 

— Dr. Rush, with a character of General Howe, 340 

— His Excellency Henry Laurens - - - 342 

— Miss F — ^— s, Philadelphia, - - - 343 

— the Same, 347 

— Miss Sidney Lee, . . . - . 348 

— the Same, 349 



MEMOIMS 

OF 

MAJOR GENERAL LEE, 



1 HE family of the Lees is both ancient 
and respectable, many of them having had con- 
nections and intermarriages with the principal fa- 
milies in the English nation; and, from a pedi- 
gree done for Mr. Thomas Lee-'-', distributor and 
collector of the stamp-duties for the county and 
city of Chester, North Wales, we learn that the 
General's father was John Lee of Demhall, in the 
said county, who was some time a Captain of 
Dragoons, afterwards Lieutenant Colonel of Ge- 
neral Barrel's regiment from 1717 to 1742, at 
which time he ^vas promoted to a regiment of 
Foot. He married Isabella, second daughter of 
Sir Henry Bunbury, of Stanney, in the county 
^f Chester, Baronet : by this lady he had three 
sons, Thomas, Harry, and Charles, the youngest, 
•who is the subject of these memoirs. 

From his early youth he was ardent in the pur- 
suit of knowledge ; and being an officer at eleven 
years of age, may be considered as born in the 
army : which, though it deprived him of some 
regularity with respect to the mode of his educa- 
tion, yet his genius led him assiduously to culti- 
vate the fields of science, and he acquired a compe- 
' tent skill in the Greek and Latin ; while his fondr 
ness for travelling gave him also an opportunity of 

• In 1773. 
B 



14 

attaining the Italian, Spanish, German, and French 
languages. 

Having laid a good foundation, tactics became 
his favourite study, in which he spent much time 
and pains, desiring nothing more than to dis- 
tinguish himself in the profession of arms. We 
find him very early in America, commanding a 
Company of Grenadiers of the 44th regiment : 
and he was at the battle of Ticonderoga, where 
General Abercrombie was defeated. Here, it is 
said, he was shot through the body; but for- 
tunately his wound did not prove mortal. 

When he returned to England from America, 
after the reduction of Montreal, he found a gene- 
ral peace was in contemplation. The cession of 
Canada was talked of, which gave great uneasiness 
to every American, as it appeared prejudicial to 
their interest and safety. On this occasion he 
exerted iiimself, and published a pamphlet shewing 
the importance of this country, which was much 
approved of by all the friends to America, l^he 
celebrated Dr. Franklin, in particular, was pleased 
to compliment him, and said " that it could not 
fail of making a salutary impression." In the 
year 17.6:2, he bore a ColonePs commission, and 
served under General Burgoyne in Portugal ; and 
in this service he handsomely distinguished him- 
^elf. 

The Spaniards had formed a design of invading 
that kingdom, and had assembled an army on the 
frontiers of Estremadura, with an intention of 
penetrating into the province of Alentejo. Count 
JLa Lippe was the commanding officer of the Por- 
tuguese army, who formed a design «f attacking 
art advanced body of the Spaniards, which lay on 
their frontiers, in, a town called Valentia de Alcan- 
tara. 



15 

This entcrprize was committed to Brigadier Gc^ 
neral Burgoyne, who effected a complete surprize 
on the town, took the General who was to have 
commanded in the intended invasion, with a num- 
ber of other officers, and one of the best regiments 
in the Spanish service was entirely destroyed. But 
notwithstanding this, and several subsequent skir- 
mishes, the Spanish army continued masters of 
the country, and nothing remained but the passage 
of the Tagus, to enable them to take up the'iv 
quarters in Alentejo. 

General Burgoyne, who was posted with an in- 
tention to obstruct them in their passage, lay in 
the neighbourhood, and within view of a detached 
camp, composed of a considerable body of the 
enemy's cavalry, which lay near a village called 
Villa Velha. As he observed that the enemy kept 
no very soldierly guard in this post, and were un> 
oovered both in their rear and their flanks, he con- 
ceived a design of falling on them by surprize. 
The execution of his design was entrusted to his 
friend Colonel Lee, who, in the night of October 
6th, fell upon their rear, turned their camp, made a 
considerable slaughter, dispersed the v/hole party, 
destroyed their magazines, and returned with; 
scarce any loss. 

When a general conclusion was at length put to 
the war, he returned to England from Portugal, 
after having received the thanks of his Portuguese 
Majesty for his services ; and Count La Lippc 
recommended him in the strongest tern^s to the 
English Court, He had, at this period, a friend 
and patron in high office, one of the principal 
Secretaries of State ; so that there was every reason 
for him to have expected promotion in the English 
army. But here his attachment, his enthusiasm 
for America, interfered, andprevented. The grf lit 



16 

I;idlan, or what we called Pondiacks War, broke, 
out, which the ministerial agents thought their in- 
terest to represent as a matter of no consequence. 
The friends of America thought the reverse, and 
asserted it would be attended with dreadful waste, 
ravage, and desolation. This brought him once 
more to publish for the defence and protection 
of diis country, by which he lost the favour of 
the ministry, and shut th^ door to all hopes of 
preferment in the English army. But he could not 
live in idleness and inactivity : he left his native 
country, and entered into the Polish service, and 
was of course absent when the stamp act passed ; 
but although absent, he did not cease labouring in 
the cause of America, as may belearnedfrom many 
ofhisletters. He used every argument, andexi:rted 
all the abilities he was master of, with every cor- 
respondent he had, in either House of Parliament, 
of any weight or influence ; and at the same time, 
he had not an inconsiderable number in both. 

It must be observed, that this famous act had 
divided almost every court in Europe into two 
different parties : the one, asserters of the prero- 
gative of the British Parliament ; the other of 
the rights and privileges of America. General 
Lee, on this occasion, pleaded the cause of the 
Colonies with such earnestness as almost to break 
off all intercourse with the King's ministers at 
the Court of Vienna, men that he personally loved 
and esteemed ; but, at the same time, it was 
thought that he pleased with so much success as 
to add not a few friends and partizans to America. 
These circumstances are mentioned, as they serve 
to demonstrate that a zeal for the welfare of the 
Colonies, from the General's earliest acquaintance 
with them, had been a ruling principle of his life. 
The presentvolumes will testify v/hat he sacrificed, 



17 

what he did, and what he hazarded, in the last 
and most important conte .t which separated the 
Colonies from their Parent State : — but there is 
one circumstance that seems to claim a particu- 
ler attention; which is, that of all the officers 
who embarked in the American service, he was 
the only man who could acquire no additional 
rank, and perhaps the only one whose fortune 
could not have been impaired, or at least the 
tenure by which it was held, changed from its 
former condition into a precarious and arbitrary 
one, by the success of the British ministry's 
schemes ; for, had they been completed to the full 
extent of their wishes, the condition of his for- 
tune had not been altered for the worse : his for- 
tune, though not great, was easy, and, it may be 
said, affluent, for a private gentleman ; a detail of 
which the Editor is enabled to collect from his pa- 
pers. 

1 St. The Generai had four hundred and eighty 
■pounds pe?' ivinum, on a mortgage in Jamaica, paid 
punctually. 

2dly. An estate of two hundred pounds per 
ajinum in Middlesex, for another gentleman's life; 
but whose life he had insured against his own. 

5dly. A thousand pounds on a turnpike in 
England 3X^o\\y per cent, interest. 

4thly. One thousand five hundred pounds, at 
five per cent. 

5thly. His half-pay, one hundred and thirty-six 
pounds per annum : in all, nine hundred and thir- 
ty-one pounds per annum^ clear income : besides 
this, about twelve hundred pounds in his agent's 
hands, and different debts. He had, hkewise, ten 
thoustmd acres of land in the island of St. John, 
which hiKl been located and settled at the expence 
B 2 



18 

of seven hundred pounds ; and a mandamus for 
twenty thousand acres in East Florida. 

This is the state of the General's fortune when 
he engaged in the late American contest ; and this 
fortune would have been totally unaffected, though 
the prerogative of taxing America without her 
consent had been established and confirmed : the 
4^ull possession of it ^vas secure, and independent 
of her fate. But these considerations did not in- 
fluence his mind : he gave up security for insecu- 
rity, certainty for uncertainty ; he threw into the 
lap of America, without any chance of ^yinning ; 
he staked all on the die of her fortunes : if she 
succeeded, he could not I3e bettered : if she mis- 
carried, his whole was lost. His rank, as before 
observed, acquired no addition ; but the contrary', 
for a stop was put to its progress in the two other 
services, the Polish and the English. 

The General, who could never stay long in one, 
place, during the years 1771, 1772,' to the flill of 
1773, had rambled air over Europe : but we can 
collect nothing material relative to the adventures 
of his travels, as his memorandum-books only 
mention the names of the towns and cities through 
which he passed. That he was a most rapid and 
very active traveller, is evident : it appears also, 
that he was engaged with an officer in Italy in ai\ 
affair of honour, by which he lost the use of two 
of his fingers ; but having recourse to pistols, the 
Italian was slain, and he immediately obliged to 
fly for his life. His warmth of temper drew him 
into many rccounters of this kind ; in all which 
he acquitted himself with singular courage^ 
sprightiiness of imagination, and great presence 
of mind. 

Much dissatisfied with the appearance of the po- 
Jiticai horizon at London, oai the 16th of August 



19 

1773, he embarked on board the packet for New- 
York, where he arrived on the 10th of November 
following, and had a very severe fit of the gout. 
At this period, the controversy between Great Brit- 
ain and her Colonies began to be serious ; and the 
General concerted a design of taking a part in fa- 
vour of America, in case it came to an open rup- 
ture. 

The destruction of the British East India com- 
pany's tea at Boston, the IGtli of December, was 
a prelude to the calamities that afterwards ensued. 
At this crisis, General Lee's mind was not inob- 
servant or inactive ; his conversation, his pen, an- 
imated the Colonists to a great degree, and per- 
suaded them to make a persevering resistance. 

During this winter, he visited Philadelphia, 
Williamsburgh, and several other places in Vir- 
ginia and Maryland : and retured to Philadelphia', 
a few months before the first Congress met in that 
city, on the 5th of September. Encouraging and 
observing what was going forward here, he then 
paid a visit to New- York, Rhode Island, and Bos- 
ton, where he arrived on the 1st of August 1774. 
The most active political characters on the Amer- 
ican theatre, now hailed him, and were happy in 
his acquaintance, not a little pleased with his san- 
guine, lively temper ; considering his presence 
among them at this crisis, as a most fortunate and 
propitious omen. General Gage had now issued 
his proclamations ; and though Lee was on half- 
pay in the British service, it did not prevent him 
from expressing his sentiments in terms of the 
most pointed severity against the ministry. In 
short, he blazed forth a Whig of the first magni- 
tude, and communicated a portion of his spirit to 
all with whom he conversed. As he continued 
travelling, or rather flying from place to place, he 



20 

became known to all who distinguished them- 
selves in this important opposition : his company 
and correspondence were courted, and many oc- 
casional political pieces, the production of his pen, 
were eagerly read, and much admired ; and from 
this popularity, there is no reason to doubt but he 
expected he should soon become the first in mill- 
tary rank on this continent. 

General Gates was settled on a plantation in 
Berkeley county, Virginia ; and having a great 
friendship for Lee, persuaded him to purchase from 
a Mr. Hite, a very fine valuable tract of land in 
his neighbourhood, of about two thousand seven 
hundred acres, on which were several good im- 
provements. 

On this business, he left his friends in the Nor- 
thern States, and returned to Virginia, where lie 
remained till the month of May 1775, when he 
again presented himself at Philadelphia. The 
American Congress were assembled : and he be- 
came daily a greater enthusiast in the cause of 
Liberty. The battle of Lexington, and some 
other matters, had now ripened the contest ; and 
Lee's active and enterprising disposition was ready 
for the most arduous purposes. He therefore ac- 
cepted a commission from the Congress, which 
was offered to him by some of its principal mem- 
bers ; but he found it necessary previously to re- 
sign that which he held in the British service. 
This he did without delay, in a letter transmitted 
to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Bamng- 
ton, his Majesty's Secretary at War ; assuring his 
Lordship, that although he had renounced his 
half- pay, yet, whenever it should please his Majes- 
ty to call him forth to any honorable service against^ 
the natural hereditary enemies of his country, or 
\n defence of his niObt just rights jujd dignity, nc 



Anan would obey the righteous summons with 
more zeal and alacrity than himself: at the same 
time, the General expressed his disapprobation of 
the present measures, in the most direct terms : 
declaring them to be " so absolutely subversive 
of the rights and liberties of every individual sub- 
ject, so destructive to the whole empire at large, 
and ultimately so ruinous to his Majesty's owrt 
person, dignity, and family, that he thought him- 
self obliged in conscience, as a citizen. English- 
man, and a soldier of a free State, to exert his ut- 
most to defeat them." 

Professing these sentiments, he received a Con- 
tinental commission of the rank of Major Gen- 
eral. As he had made war his study from his 
youth, seen a variety of service, and distinguished 
himself for his courage and abilities, one might 
have imagined he would have immediately been 
appointed second in command in the American ar- 
my : this was not the case ; in all countries, kis- 
sing goes by favour ; and men will be tenacious of 
any rank bestowed upon them. General Ward, 
of Massachusetts Bay, by some means or other, 
had received a commission of a prior date ; and 
on this accouiit, perhaps to the injury of the ser- 
vice, he took rank of General Lee, who was at 
present content to act under him. Whatever his 
feelings were on this head, he took care to disguise 
them : and General Ward, on the evacuation of 
Boston, grew weary of military honour and ser- 
vice, retired to private life, and sent his resigna- 
tion to Congress. 

On the 21st of June, General Washington and 
General Lee, having received their orders from 
Congress, left Philadelphia, in order to join the 
troops assembled near Boston They were accom- 
panied out of the city, for some miles, by a troop. 



22 

of light horse, and by all the officers of the city 
militia, on horseback ; and at this time General 
Lee was accounted, and really was, a great acqui- 
sition to the American cause. On the road they 
received the news of the affair at Bunker's-hill, 
and arrived at the camp at Cambridge the 2d of 
July 1775. The people of Massachusetts received 
them with every testimony of esteem ; and the 
Congress of that Colony not only presented an 
address to his Excellency General Washington, as 
Gommander in chief, but, from a sense of the mili- 
tary abilities of General Lee, presented one to 
him also, couched in terms of the highest respect. 
The General remained with this army till the year 
1776, when General Washington, having obtain- 
ed intelligence of the fitting out of a fleet at Bos- 
ton, and of the embarkation of troops from thence, 
which, from the season of the year, and other 
circumstances, he judged must be destined for 
a Southern expedition, gave orders to Gene- 
ral Lee, to repair with such volunteers as were 
willing to join him, and could be expeditiously 
liaised, to the city of New- York, with a design to 
prevent the English from taking possession of 
New- York and the North- River, as they would 
thereby command the country, and the communi- 
cation with Canada. The General, on his arrival, 
began with putting the city in the best posture of 
deft-nce the season of the year and circumstances 
would admit of; disarming all such persons upon 
Long-Island, and else where, whose conduct and 
declarations had rendered them suspected of de- 
signs unfriendly to the views of Congress. Colonel 
Ward was ordered to secure the whole body of 
professed Tories in Long-island. This gave an uni- 
versal alarm, that even the Congress of New-York 
^ideavoured to check the General iji this business/ 



23 

by informing him, in a letter, that the trial and' 
punishment of citizens belonged to the Provincial 
Congress, and not to any military character, how- 
ever exalted. To this the General answered, that 
when the enemy was at the doors, forms must be 
dispensed with — that his duty to them, to the 
Continental Congress and to his own conscience, 
had dictated the necessity of the measure — that if 
he had done wrong, he would submit himself to 
the shame of being reputed rash and precipitate, 
and undergo the censure of the public ; but he 
should have the consciousness of his own breast, 
that the pure motives of serving the community, 
uncontaminated by picque or resentment to ndivi- 
duals, urged him to the step. The General also 
remonstrated against supplyingthemen of war and 
Governor Try on with provisions, as the boats 
co-raingto the city must open the means of their 
receiving every sort of intelligence. " I should," 
says the General in one of his letters, " be in the 
highest degree culpable to God, my conscience, 
and the Continental Congress, in whose service I 
am engaged, should I suffer, at so dangerous a 
crisis, a banditti of professed foes of liberty and 
their country, to remain at liberty to co-operate 
with, and strengthen the ministerial troops openly 
in arms, or covertly, and consequently more dan- 
gerously furnish them with intelligence." He 
also drew up a Test^ which he ordered his officers 
to offer to those who were reputed inimical to the 
American cause : a refusal to take this, was to be 
construed as no more or less than an avowal of 
of their hostile intentions ; upon which, their per- 
sons were to be secured, and sent to Connecticut, 
where it was judged they could not be so dan- 
gerous. Thus the General excited the people to 
every spirited incasure, and intimidated by every 



24 

means the friends to the English government. At 
this time, Captain Vandepiit, of the Asia, seized 
a Lieutenant Tiley, and kept him on board his 
ship in irons. On the principles of retaliation, 
Lee took into custody Mr. Stephens, an officer 
of Government ; and informed the Captain what 
he had done, and that this gentleman should not 
be released until Lieut. Tiley was returned. This 
had the desired effect. His determined and de- 
cisive disposition h.id an amazing influence both 
on the army and people ; and the steps he propo- 
sed for the management of those who disappro- 
ved of the American resistance, struck a terror 
wherever he appeared. 

Congress had now received the account of Xjc- 
neral Montgomery's unsuccessful expedition 
against Quebec. As flattering expectations were 
entertained of the success of this officer, the event 
threw a gloom on American affairs. To remedy 
this disaster, they turned their eyes to General Lee, 
and Congress resolved that he should forthwith 
repair to Canada, and take upon him the command 
of the army of the United Colonies in that pro- 
vince. This, though he was just recovered from 
a fit of the gout, he accepted ; but while prepara- 
tions were making for the important undertaking, 
Congress changed their determination, and ap- 
pointed him to the command of the Southern de- 
partment ; in which he became very conspicuous, 
as a vigilant, brave and active officer. His exten- 
sive correspondence, his address under every dif- 
ficulty, and his unwearied attention to the duties 
of his station, all evince his great military capa- 
city, and extreme usefulness to the cause he had 
espoused, and was warmly engaged in — Every tes- 
timony of respect was paid him by the people of 
the Northern Colonies, and he experienced a sim- 



25 

ilar treatment in his journey to the Southward. 
On his arrival at Williamsburgh, every one expres- 
sed their high satisfaction at his presence among 
them ; and the troops of that city embraced the 
opportunity of presenting him with an address, 
expressive of their sanguine hopes and firm reso- 
lutions of uniting with him in the common cause. 
This example was followed at Newbern, North- 
Carolina ; and a committee was appointed by the 
inhabitants of that town, to wait upon him in their 
name, and, in an address, to thank him for his gen- 
erous and manly exertions in defence of Ameri- 
can rights and liberties ; and to offer him their 
cordial congratulations for his appearance among 
them, at a time when their province was actually 
invaded by a powerful fleet and army ; and to ex- 
press their happiness to find the command of the 
troops destined for their protection, placed in the 
hands of a gentleman of his distinguished charac- 
ter. 

Great too was the joy in South Carolina, where 
his presence was seasonable and absolutely neces- 
sary, as Sir Henry Clinton was actually preparing 
for an invasion of that province. The minds of 
all ranks of people were considerably elevated at 
the sight of him ; it diftbsed an ardour among the 
military, attended with the most salutary conse- 
quences ; and his diligence and activity at Charles- 
town, previous to the attack upon Sullivan's island, 
will be long remembered. From a perusal of his 
letters and directions to the officers commanding 
at that post, we may justly infer, that America 
was under no small obligations to him for the sig- 
nal success there obtained — And here it may be 
mentioned, as somewhat remarkable, that when 
General Lee received orders, at Cambridge, to re- 
pair to New- York, to watch the motions of the 

c 



26 

British, he met General Clinton the very day he 
arrived there ; when he came to Virginia, he found 
him in Hampton Road — and just after his arrival 
in North Carolina, General Clinton left Cape Fear 
- — Their next meeting was at Fort Sullivan, which 
must have made Lee appear to Clinton as his evil 
genius, haunting him for more than eleven hun- 
dred miles, along a coast of vast extent, and meet- 
ing him at Phillippi. 

The affairs of Sullivan's island was a most extra- 
ordinary deliverance ; for, if the English had suc- 
ceeded, it is more than probable the Southern 
Colonies would at that time have been compelled 
to have submitted to the English government. 
Dreadful was the cannonade, but without effect. 
Porto Bello, Boccochico, and the other castle at 
Carthagena, were obliged to strike to Vernon ; 
Fort Lewis in Saint Domingo yielded to the me- 
tal of Admiral Knowles ; but in this instance, an 
unfinished battery, constructed with Palemeto 
logs, resisted, for a whole day, the twelve and 
eighteen- pounders of the British fleet, to the as- 
tonishment and admiration of every spectator. 

The fleet and army under Sir Henry Clinton 
and Sir Peter Parker being repulsed, General Lee 
then flew to the assistance of Georgia, where he 
continued for some weeks, planning schemes to 
put that province in a state of defence, and to 
make an excursion into East Florida, as their Sou- 
thern frontiers were suffering considerably by the 
incursions of Indians and others from that quar- 
ter. 

About this time, the Congress were informed 
by General Washington, that Clinton, with the 
troops under his command, had returned, and 
joined General Howe at Staten- island. In conse- 
(juence of this intelligence, the Congress were 



27 

convinced that the Enghsh, by collecting their 
whole force into a point, were determined to 
make a most vigorous exertion at New-York ; 
and in order to ensure success there, were dispo- 
sed for the present to overlook every other ob- 
ject. The getting possession of that city, and 
the junction of the two armies under General 
Howe and Burgoyne, it was the Congress's opin- 
ion were the grand objects they had in view, and 
for the attainment of which they would give up 
every inferior consideration. Lee's success in 
the Southern department had increased the good 
opinion they had conceived of him : his reputation 
was in its zenith ; and they now applied to him 
for assistance, in the present important situation 
of their affairs. An express was dispatched to 
Georgia, directing him to repair as soon as possi- 
ble to Philadelphia, there to receive such orders 
as they might judge expedient. He returned with 
great expedition, the beginning of October, and 
waited on Congress immmediately on his arrival, 
who, after consulting him, resolved that he should 
without delay repair to the camp at Haerlem, \vitii 
leave, if he should judge proper, to visit the 
posts in New-Jersey. He arrived at General 
Washington's army just time enough to prevent 
it from being blockaded in York-island, the 
circumstance of which hath been thus related. 
General Washington was at that time under a ne- 
cessity of consulting his coui>cil of officers, before 
he could take any step of consequence; and they, 
contrary to his opinion, were for waiting an attack 
in their own lines on York-island — Extensive 
barracks had been erected, and large preparations 
made for such a ste|5. Sir William Howe, find- 
ing the Americans too strong to be attacked with 
(Safety from the side of New- York, leaving Lord 



28 

Piercy with a body of troops opposite the river, 
embarked the rest in his flat boats, passed safely 
the dangerous passage of Hell-Gate, and landed 
on Frog's Neck, an island separated by a small 
creek, from West Chester. Here he remained a 
week, under a pretence of waiting for stores and 
provisions ; while the Americans, in consequence 
of their resolution, continued on the island. The 
very evening before General Howe made a move- 
ment, General Lee arrived at General Washing- 
ton's camp : his opiriion of their dangerous situa- 
tion convinced the Council of War ; and, that 
night, a precipitate movement extricated them 
from the danger. The next morning, General 
Howe landed on Pell's Manor, a point separated 
from FroQ-'s Neck bv a channel of scarce 200 
yards : he then extended his army across to Hud- 
son's river ; but there was then no enemy to in- 
tercept. Had he, instead of trifling away his 
time, crammed up on Frog's Neck, landed only 
on Pell's point, not a soul of the American army 
would have escaped. Hitherto General Lee had 
been successful, and was universally esteemed ; 
but fortune now began to reverse the ocene. On 
the 13th of December 1776, at the head of all 
the men he could collect, he was marching to 
join[General Washington, who had assembled the 
Pennsylvania militia, to secure the banks of the 
Delaware. — From the distance of the British can- 
tonments, he was betrayed into a fatal security, 
by which, in crossing the upper part of New-Jer- 
sey from the North river, he fixed his quarters, and 
lay carelessly guarded at some distance from the 
riiain body. Tliis circumstance being commu- 
nicated to Colonel Harcourt, who commanded 
the British light horse, and had then made a de- 
sultory excursion at the head oi' a small detach- 



2§ 

ment, he conducted his measures .with such ad- 
dress and activity, that Lee was carried off", though 
several guarded posts and armed patroles lay irx 
the way. Great was the joy of the British, and 
equal the consternation of the Americans, at this 
unexpected event. The making of a single offi- 
cer prisoner, in other circumstances would have 
been a matter of little moment ; but in the pres- 
ent state of the continental forces, where a general 
deficiency of military skill prevailed, and the in- 
experience of the officers was even a greater grie- 
vance, the loss of a commander, whose spirit of 
enterprize was directed by great knowledge m his 
profession, acquired by actual service, was indeed 
of the utmost importance. The Congress, on 
hearing this news, ordered their President to write 
to General Washington, desiring him to send a 
fkg to General Howe, for the purpose of enqui- 
ring in what manner General Lee was treated ; 
and if he found that it was not agreeable to his 
rank and character, to send a remonstrance to 
General Howe on the subject. This produced 
much inconvenience to both sides, and much ca- 
lamity to individuals. A cartel had some time 
before been established for the exchange of priso- 
ners between the Generals Howe and Washing- 
ton, which had hitherto been carried into execu- 
tion, as far as time and circumstances would ad- 
mit. As Lee was particularly obnoxious to 
Government, it was said that General Howe was 
tied down by his instructions, from parting with 
him upon any terms, if the fortune of war should 
throw him into his power. General Washington 
not having at this time any prisoners of equal- 
rank with Lee, proposed to exchange six field 
officers for him, the number beinn; intended t6 
balance that disparity ; or if this was not accep- 

c 2 



30 

ted, he required that he should be treated suitably 
to his station, according to the practice establish- 
ed among polished nations, till an opportunity of- 
fered for a direct and equal exchange. To this 
it was answered, that as Mr. Lee was a deserter 
from his Majesty's service, he was not to be 
oonsidered as a prisoner of war ; that he did not 
at all come within the conditions of the cartel^ 
nor could he receive any of its benefits. This 
brought on a fruitless discussion, wb.ether Gen- 
eral Lee, who had resigned his half-pay at the be- 
ginning of the troubles, could be considered as a 
deserter ; or whether he could with justice be ex- 
cluded from the general benefits of a cartel, in 
which no particular exception of person had been 
made. In the mean time, General Lee was guar- 
ded with all the strictness which a state criminal 
of the first magnitude could have experienced in 
the most dangerous political conjecture. This 
conduct not only suspended the operation of the 
cartel, but induced retaliation on the American 
side ; and Colonel Campbell, who had hitherto 
been treated with great humanity by the people 
of Boston, was now thrown into a dungeon. 

Those British officers who were prisoners in 
the Southern Colonies, though not treated with 
equal rigour, were, however abridged of their pa- 
role liberty. It was at the same time declared, 
that their future treatment should in every degree 
be regulated by that which General Lee expe- 
rienced, and that their persons should be answer- 
able, in the utmost extent, for any violence that 
was offered to him. Thus matters continued till 
the capture of the British army under General 
Burgoyne at Saratoga, October 17th, 1777. A 
change of conduct towards him then took place ;, 
^e was allowed his parole in New- York,, lodged 



31 

in the same house with Lieutenant Colonel Butlcc 
of the 38th, dined with General Robertson com- 
mandant of the town, and with many principal 
officers and families, and a short time after was 
exchanged. 

The first military scene in which General Lee 
appeared after his liberation, was the battle of 
Monmouth, which terminated his career in the 
American army. Before this affair, his character 
in general was very respectable ; many of the 
warm friends to America, highly valued the impor- 
tant services he had rendered to the United States. 

From the beginning of the contest, he had ex- 
cited and directed the military spirit which per- 
vaded the continent ; his conversation raised aa 
emulation among the officers, and he taught them 
to pay a proper attention to the health, cloathing 
and comfortable subsistence of their men : add to 
this, his zeal was unwearied in inculcating the prin- 
ciples of liberty among all ranks of people ; hence 
it is said that a strong party was formed in Con« 
gress, and by some discontented officers in the 
army, to raise Lee to the first command ; and it 
hath been suggested by many, that General Lee's 
conduct at the battle of Monmouth, was intended 
to effect this plan ; for, could the odium of the de- 
feat have been at that time thrown on General 
Washington^ and his attack of the British army 
made to appear rash and imprudent, there is great 
reason to suppose he would have been deprived 
of his command. It hath been observed by some 
writers on this subject, that when General Lee 
was taken prisoner, the American army was on na 
par with the Royal forces ; but the ease v/as much 
changed on his return from his captivity. He 
found them improved, and daring enough to at- 
tack even the British grenadiers with Hxmaess and 



32 

resolution. Had not this been the case, and Ge- 
neral Lee, when ordered to attack the rear of the 
Royal army, seen his men beat back with disgrace, 
unwilling to rally, and acting with fear and trepi- 
dation, his retreat would have been necessary, his 
conduct crowned with applause, and his purposes 
eifected ; but, disappointed in this view, the retreat 
hath been imputed to himself, as he could not al- 
ledge the want of sprit in his troops for the justi- 
fication of his conduct. 

The British army, early on Thursday the 25tli 
of June, completed their evacuation of Philadel- 
phia, having before transported their stores and most 
of their Artillery into the Jersies, where they had 
thrown up some works, and several regiments were 
encamped ;^ — they manned the lines the preceding 
night, and retreated over the commons, crossing 
at Gloucester Point. A party of the American 
horse pursued them very close ; however nothing 
very material happened till the 28th, when, about 
three o'clock, in the morning, the British army 
moved on their way to Middietown Point. 
About eleven o'clock, the American van, com- 
manded by General Lee, overtook them ; but he 
soon retreated, and was met by General Washing- 
ton, who formed on the first proper piece of 
ground near Monmouth Court-house. While 
this was doing, two pieces of cannon, supported 
by Colonel Livingston and Colonel Stewart, with 
a picked corps of 300 men, kept off the main bo- 
dy of the Enghsh, and made a great slaughter. 
Very severe skirmishing ensued ; and the Ameri- 
can army advancing, the British made their last 
efforts upon a small body of Pennsylvania troops 
at and about Mr. Tennant's house ; they then 
gave >vay, leaving the field covered with dead and 
woundcu. General Washington's troops pursu- 



ed for about a mile, when, night coming on, and 
the men exceedingly fatigued with marching, and 
the hot weather, they halted about half a mile be- 
yond the ground of the principal action. — The 
British took a strong post in their front, secured 
on both flanks by morasses and thick woods, where 
they remained until about twelve at night, and 
then retreated. In consequence of this action, 
General Lee Avas put under arrest, and tried by a 
Court Martial at Brunswick, the 4th July follow- 
ing. The charges exhibited against him were, 

1st. For disobedience of orders, in not attack- 
ing the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeable to 
repeated instructions. 

2d. For misbehaviour before the enemy on the 
same day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly, 
and shameful retreat. 

od. For disrespect to the commander in chief, 
in two letters, dated the 1st July, and the 28th June. 

The letters, on which the third charge is found- 
ed are as follows : 

Campy English Town, ^st July Ml ^. 
SIR, 

From the knowledge I have of your Excel- 
lency's character, I must conclude, that nothing 
but the misinformation of some very stupid, 
or misrepresentation of some very wicked per- 
son, could have occasioned your making use of 
such very singular expressions as you did, on my 
coming up to the ground where you had taken 
post : they implied, that I was guilty either of 
disobedience of orders, of want of conduct, or 
want of courage. Your Excellency will therefore 
infinitely oblige me, by letting me know, on which 
of these three articles you ground your charge, 
that I may prepare for my justification,- which I 
have the happiness to be confident I can do, to the 
Army, to the Congress, to America, and to the 



54 

>¥orld in general. Your Excellency must give me 
leave to observe, that neither yourself, nor those 
about your person, could, from your situation, be 
in the least judges of the merits or demerits of 
our manoeuvres; and, to speak with a becoming 
pride, I can assert, that to these manoeuvres the 
success of the day was entirely owing. I can boldly 
say, that had we remained on the first ground, or 
had we advanced, or had the retreat been conduct- 
ed in a manner different from what it was, this 
whole army, and the interest of America, would 
have risked being sacrificed. I ever had, and I 
hope ever shall have, the greatest respect and vene- 
ration for General Washington; I think him en- 
dued with many great and good qualites ; but ia 
this instance, I must pronounce, that he has been 
guilty of an act of cruel injustice towards a man 
who has certainly some pretensions to the regard 
of every servant to his country; and, I think. Sir, 
I have a right to demand some reparation for the 
injury committed; and unless I can obtain it, I 
must, injustice to myself, when the campaign is 
closed, which I believe will close the war, retire 
from a service, at the head of which is placed a 
man capable of offering such injuries : — but, at the 
same time, injustice to you, I must repeat, that I 
from my soul believe, that it was not a motion of 
your own breast, but instigated by some of those 
dirty earwigs who will for ever insinuate them- 
selves near persons in high office ; for I am really 
convinced, that when General Washington acts 
from himself, no man in his army will have rea- 
son to complain of injustice and indecorum. 

I am, Sir, and I hope ever shall have reason to 
continue, your most sincerely devoted humble 
Servant, CHARLES LEE. 

His Excellency Gen. Washington. 



35 . 

Head Quarters, English- Tcivn, June 28th IIIB. 
SIR, 

I RECEIVED your letter, (dated, through 
mistake, the 1st of July,) expressed, as I conceive, 
in terms highly improper. I am not conscious of 
having made use of any very singular expressions 
at the time of my meeting you, as you intimate. 
What I recollect to have said, was dictated by 
duty, and warranted by the occasion. As soon 
as circumstances will admit, you shall have an 
opportunity either of justifying yourself to the 
Army, to Congress, to America, and to the 
world in general, or of convincing them that you 
are guilty of a breach of orders, and of misbeha- 
viour before the enemy, on the 28th instant, in not 
attacking them as you had been directed, and in 
making an unnecessarj^, disorderly, and shameful 
retreat. 

I am Sir, your most obedient Servant, 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
Major Gen. Lee. 

Camp, June 23th, 1778, 
SIR, 

I EEC your Excellency's pardon for the in- 
accuracy in misdating*, my letter. — You cannot 
afford me greater pleasure than in giving me the 
opportunity of shewing to America, the sufficien- 
cy of her respective servants. I trust, that the 
temporary power of office, and the tinsel dignity 
attending it, will not be able, by all the mists they 
can raise, to offiscate the bright rays of truth. In 
the mean time, your Excellency can have no ob- 
jection to my retiring from the army. 

I am, Sir, 

Your most obedient. Humble Servant, 
CHARLES LEE. 
Oen. Washington. 



' Camp, June 5Qth, ms. 

sir; 

Since I had the honour of addressing nny 
letter by Colonel Fitzgerald to your Excellency, 
I have reflected on both your situation and mine ; 
and beg leave to observe, that it will be for our 
mutual convenience, thata Court of Inquiry should 
be immediately ordered ; but 1 could wish it 
might be a Court Martial : for, if the affair is 
drawn into length, it may be difficult to collect 
the necessary evidences, and perhaps might-bring 
on a paper- war betwixt the adherents to both par- 
ties, which may occasion some disagreeable feuds 
on the Continent ; for all are not my friends, nor 
your admirers. 

I must entreat, therefore, from your love of 
justice, that you will immediately exhibit your 
charge ; and that on the first halt, I may be 
brought to a trial. 

lam. Sir, 

Your most obedient, 
Humble Servant, 

CHARLES LE>E, 
His Excellency Gen. Washington. 

The Court met, by several adjournments, till 
the 12lh of August, when ihey found the unfor- 
tunate General guilty of the several charges brought 
against him, and sentenced him to be suspen- 
ded from any commission in the armies of the Uni- 
ted States of North America for the term of twelve 
months. But it was usual in America, and thought 
necessary, that the sentence of every Court Mar- 
tial should be ratified or confirmed by Congress ; 
the proceedings, therefore, of the Court, were ac- 
cordingly transmitted to them, and the General re- 
paired to Philadelphia to await their decision. Du- 



5^7 

ring his stay there on this business, he tvas invoI>-^ 
ved in several disputes; and though hisafFair might 
be considered as yet sub judice, yet the conversa- 
tion of the city was rather against him, which in- 
duced him to publish, as it were, a second defence; 
and as this may not be so well known to the pub- 
lic as the elegant and masterly defence in his trial, 
which hath been republished in Europe, I shall in- 
sert it in this place. 

GENERAL LEE'S VINDICATION TO THE PUBLIC. 

The different commentators on the orders I re- 
ceived from Gen. Washington on the 28th of June, 
have, I think, construed them into no more than 
tlirce different senses. I shall therefore, for argu- 
ment's sake, give the world leave to suppose them 
to have been any one of these three :* — 1st. To 
attack the enemy in whatever situation, and in 
whatever force I found them, without considering 
consequences. 

2d. To contrive the means of bringing on ^ ge- 
neral engagement. 

3d. To annoy them as much as possible, without 
risking an^^ thing of great importance ; that is, in 
fact, to act with a great degree of latitude, accord- 
ing to my own discretion. 

Now, I say, granting any one of these three to 
have been the orders I received, it is manifest, 
that I did literally and effectually comply, as far as 
depended on myself, and on human means. As 
to the first, notwithstanding the attempt, by a low 
evasion, to prove that the orders I gave were only 

* It must appear sornewbat extraocdinsry, that when the princi- 
pal and heaviest charge brought against me, was the disobedience of 
orders, these orders that it seems I disobeyed, should never have 
been attempted to be ascertained to the Court by the proper authori- 
ty, but were left to the conjecture and wild constructions of those 
who might take the trouble to guess, and to the hardiness of tho^e 
■wlio- might cliuse to invent, 

D 



38 

t^ advance on the enemy, it is clear from Captain 
Mercer's evidence, that General Wayne and Colo- 
nel Butler were ordered, not only to advance, 
but, in precise terms, to attack ; — it is clear, that 
I did, with the three brigadiers on the right, make 
the only movement possible to accomplish this 
end — it is clear that I did not wish, or give any 
orders for a retrogade manoeuvre from the first 
•point of action, and that, even when I was infor- 
med of our left being abandonjt^d, the retreat, how- 
ever necessary, was, I am ashamed to own it, done 
contrary to my orders, and contrary to my inten- 
tions. I say I am ashamed to own it ; for if the 
British cavalry had vigorously pushed on our right, 
they might have turned our flank, taken us in re- 
verse, and we had been lost. There is one sup- 
position, and indeed only one (and that, for the 
General's honour, is too monstrous to be admitted,) 
that would render me criminal ; it is, that he had 
positively commanded me, that after the attack 
commenced, whatever were my circumstances, or 
whatever were my numbers, from thence I should 
not, from any consideration, recede an inch. Now, 
if such I had conceived to have been hi* intention, 
so great is my opinion of the valour, zeal, and obe- 
dience of the troops, and so well I think I know 
myself, that I do really believe we should all have 
perished on the first spot; b'^t I never had, audit 
IS almost impossible I should have, an idea that 
such was his plan ; and it is evident that it was not ; 
consequently, in seeking a better position in our 
rear, I oould be guilty of no disobedience. Upon 
the whole, admitting the orders I received to h..ve 
been Cas it h.is heen insinuated) to attack, without 
any consideration of the force, or situation of the 
enemy, they were as fully and rigidly obeyed, cir- 
rum^tanced as I was, as it was possible for any hii- 



3& 

man officer to obey orders of such a nature. In 
the next place, if the General's instructions are 
construed to be, that I should find the means of 
bringing on a general engagement, it is difficult to 
imagine a more efficacious method than that which 
was pursued. But I must here beg leave to ob- 
serve, that those gentlemen who talk so familiarly 
of bringing on a general engagement, must under- 
stand themselves as little as they can be understood 
by others. To bring on a general engagement is 
not always in our power. An enemy of any ca- 
pacity will take such measures as not to be under 
the necessity of fighting against his inclinations ; 
and, however it may be received, I cannot help be- 
ing persuaded, that some of the British generals 
are not deficient in this great essential. Clinton, 
Grey, and Erskine, were bred up, and considered 
no despicable officers in one of the best schools of 
Europe. Prince Ferdinand and his nephew, the 
hereditary prince, think, it is said, and do most 
certainly speak very honourably of them. Now, 
although it must be supposed that men of this 
Stamp will make it a rule to retain the power of 
refusing a general engagement, there are stndng 
grounds for believing, that on this day (whether 
from our manoeuvres, or from the often ungovern- 
able impetuosity of the British troops) they would 
have been put under the necessity of committing 
the most considerable part of their army to the de- 
cision of arms, if the opportunity on our side had 
been availed of. They were tempted to pass three 
of the great ravines which traverse the plain ; and 
there is room to flatter ourselves they would have 
passed the last, if they had been wisely suftered. 
They would then have been actually in our power ; 
that is, they would have been under the necessity 
of fighting against unequal force ; for they had 



49 

scarcely the possibility of retreating, and it was at- 
our option to engage whatever part of the army 
we thought proper, whether the whole, one half, 
or only a third, as they had immediately emerged 
from the ravine, and before they could have had 
time to developc and form ; our rear was, on the 
contrary, quite clear and unembarrassed, and were, 
in fact, entire masters of our manoeuvres ; at the 
same time, Colonel Morgan, and the militia on 
the flanks, by this separation of the major part of 
the enemy's army to so great a distance from their 
baggage, and the body covering the baggage, 
would have had a much fairer opportunity of ma- 
king their respective attacks, than if they had re- 
mained more compact : thus, if any thing is meant 
by finding the means of bringing on a general en*, 
gagement, it was done, and in the most salutary 
manner, to the utmost, extent of human possibility. 
We come now to the last supposition, viz. That 
the orders I received (which in fact is the truth, 
unless they had no meaning at all) were to annoy 
the enemy, strike a partial blow, but without risk- 
ing aiiy thing of great importance ; or, in other 
terms to act in a great measure discretionally.*^ 
And here I defy the most acute military critic of 
the world, to point out a more effectual method 
than what was pursued ; for, had we taken post oa 
the hither or western margin of the first ravine, as- 
General V/ayne seems to think we ought to have 
done (and admitting that in this position our flanks 
could have been secure, which they certainly were 
not,) or on the margin of any of the other ravines 
in our rear, the last not excepted, if the last had 
been tenable, how could we possibly have an- 

* It must be remarked, that disobedienc* to discretionary orders 
is, pr/«ia /me, a glaring absurdity; it is an impossibility; and yet 
it has been endeavoured t« prore me guilty of this iippossibility. 



41 

ndycd the enemy, or struck a partial blow ? 
The consequence would at most have been this, 
that we might have remained gazing on and can- 
nonading each other for some time, and the mo- 
ment they chose to retire, they could have done 
it at their leisure, and with impunity ; for, by all 
the rules of war, and what is more, by all the rules 
of common sense, we could not have ventured 
to pursue them, because we should have put, if 
not impracticable, at least very dangerous, defiles 
in our rear ; and if they had turned back upon 
us, we should have been effectually in their power, 
unless we could have insured victory to ourselves 
with very unequal numbers; but, by drawing 
them over all the ravines, they were as much in 
our power ; besides, it must occur to every man 
who is not destiute of common reason, that the 
further they were from their ships and the heights 
of Middletown, the point of their security, the 
more they were (ta use the military language) 
in the air» 

To these considerations may be added, that the 
ground we found them on, was extremely favour- 
able to the nature of their troops; and that we 
drew them into, as favourable to ours. The 
ground we found them on, was calculated for 
cavalry, in which they comparatively abounded.;^ 
and that which we drew them into, as much the 
reverse. In fine, admitting that the order I re^ 
ceived was any one of the three referred to, and 
supposing we had been as perfectly acquainted 
with every yard of the country as we were utterly 
ignorant of it, I am happy to be able consciously 
to pronounce, that were the transactiorjs of that 
day to pass over again, there is no one step I 
took which I would not again take. There is 
iiQ one. thing I did which does not demott§^tral<^. 



42 

(hat I conducted myself as an obedient, prudent^ 
and, let me add, spirited officer ;* and I do from 
my soul sincerely wish, that a court of inquiry, 
composed of the ablest soldiers in the world, were 
to sit in judgment, and enjoined to canvass with 
the utmost rigour every circumstance of my con- 
duct on this day, and on their decision my repu- 
tation or infamy to be for ever established. There 
is, however, I confess, the strongest reason to 
believe (but for this omission lam no ways respon- 
sible) that, had a proper knowledge of the theatre 
of action been obtained, as it might, and ought 
to have been, its nature and different situations, 
with their references studied, and, in consequence, 
a general plan of action wisely concerted and 
digested, a most important, perhaps a decisive 
blow might have been struck, but not by adopt- 
ing any one measure that any one of my cen,. 
surcrs has been fortunate enough to think of. I 
have already said, that had we remained on the 
ground where the attack commenced, or on the 
margin of the first ravine, which General Wayne 
seems to think was a good position, wc should pro- 
bably have been lost; and I believe I may safe^ly as- 
sert, that had we attached ourselves to the second po- 
sition, in front of Carr's house, reconnoitered by 
Mons. Du Portail, on the hill which Colonel 
Hamilton was so strongly prepossessed in favour of, 
and allowing our flanks to be secure in any of 
these positions, which it is evident they were not, 
security is the only thing we could have had to 
boast of. The security of the enemy would have 
been equally great ; but any possibility of annoy- 
ing them we certainly had not. I assert, then, 

* This style, on ordinary occasions, would appear a most 
intolerable and disguising gasconade ; but when a man's con- 
duct has been so grossly misrepresented and calumniated, a» 
mine has t)e«n, \k« Strongest language ij juatifiaWo in his cEe- 
fjncci 



4^ 

that if we had acted wisely, it was our business to 
let one, two, or three thousand pass the last ravine, 
in the rear of which, and on the eminence pointed 
out to me by Mr. Wikoff, and to General Wash- 
ington by Colonel Ray,* the main body of our 
army was posted, fresh, and unfatigucd ; whereas 
those of the enemy were extremely harrassed, or, 
indeed, worn down to so low a degree of debility, 
that had they once passed, they had little chance 
of repassing ; the ground was commanding, and 
to us, in all respects andvantageous. A sort of 
natural glacis, extending itself in our front, from 
the crest of the eminence quite down to the ra- 
vine, over which there was only one narrowed pass, 
the plain so narrowed as to give no play to the ma- 
noeuvres of their cavalry ; and at two or three 
hundred yards distance in the rear, a space of 
ground most happily adapted to the arrangement 
of a second line.f This ground, from the nature 
of its front, is almost entirely protected from the 
annoyance of the enemy's cannon ; and, of course, 
well calculated for the respiration of a body of 
troops, such as my detachment was, fatigued, but 
not dispirited by action, and the excessive heat of 
the weather ; here they might have taken breath ; 
here they might have been refreshed, and, in a 
very short time, refitted at least to act as a line of 
support, which was all that, in these circumstan- 
ces, could be necessary. I proposed to the Gene- 
ral to form them as such, but was precipitately or- 

* To these two gentlemen not a little credit for the success of 
the 28th of June is due. 

f It may be objected, that a part of my detachment there, undet 
Fcott and Maxwell, had already filed off in the rear, but they might 
easily have been brought up. It is evident they might, as not long 
afterward.? a pari of ihem were oi*dered, and did march up. It 
must be observed, that I myself was totally ignorant that any part 
of them had filed off; but those I had ivitlxme woujd hav« formijd 
a very respectable liac of v^9.irYQ> 



44 

dcred, and, I confess, in a mariner that extremely 
ruifled me, to three miles distance in the rear. 

Thus, in my opinion, was a most glorious op- 
portunity lost; fcr what followed on both sides was 
only a distant, unmeaning, inefficacious cannonade ; 
and what has been so magnificently stiled a pur- 
suit, was no more than taking up the ground which 
the British troops could not possibly, and were not 
(their principle being retreat) interested to main- 
tain. 

jP. S, a thousand wicked and low artifices, du- 
ring my trial, were used to render me unpopular. 
One of the principal was, to throw out that I had 
endeavoured, on every occasion, to depreciate the 
American valour, and the character of their troops. 
There never was a more impudent falsehood ; I 
appeal to my letters addressed to Mr. Burgoyne — 
to the whole tenor of my conversation, both pre- 
vious and subsequent to the commencement of 
the present war, and to all my publications. It is 
true, I have often heavily lamented, as to me it ap- 
pears, the defective constitution of the army ; but 
I h:ivc ever had the highest opuiion of the courage 
and other good qualities of the Americans as sol- 
diers ; and the proofs that my opinion was just, 
are numerous and substantial. 

To begin with the affair of Bunker's-hill. J 
may venture to pronounce that there never was a 
more dangerous, a more execrable situation, than 
these brave and unfortunate men (if those who die 
in the glorious cause of Liberty can be termed 
unfortunate) were placed in ; they had to encoun- 
ter with a body of troops, both in point of spirit 
and discipline, not to be surpassed in the whole 
world, headed by an officer of experience, intrepi- 
dity, coolness, and decision. The Americans 
were composed, in part, of raw lads and old menj 



4o 

half armed, with no practice or discipline, com- 
manded without order, and God knows by whom. 
Yet what was the event ? It is known to the 
world, that the British troops, notwithstanding 
their address and gallantry, were most severely 
handled, and almost defeated.* 

The troops under the command of General 
Montgomery, in his expedition against St. John's, 
Chambly, and into Canada, who were chiefly 
composed of native Americans, as they were from 
the Eastern State, displayed, by his own account, 
in a letter I received from that illustrious young 
man, not only great courage, but zeal and enter- 
prize. 

The assault under Arnold, on the lower town 
of Quebec, was an attempt that would have start- 
led the most approved veterans ; and, if they mis- 
carried, it cannot be attributed to a deficiency of 
valour, but to want of proper information of the 
circumstances of the place. 

The defence of Sullivan's-Island, by Colonel 
Moultrie, might be termed an ordeal. The garri- 
son, both men and officers, entirely raw ; the fire 
furious, and of a duration almost beyond example ; 
their situation extremely critical and dangerous, 
for the rear was in a manner open ; and, if Gene- 
ral Clinton could, as it was expected, have landed 
on the island, there were no resources but in the 
last desperate resolutions. 

With respect to the transactions on York and 
Long-Island, I must be silent, as I am ignorant of 
them ; but, from some observations after I joined 
the army, I have reason to think the fault could not 

• The Colonels Stark, Prescot, Little, Gardner, Read, Nixon, 
aind the two Brewers, were entitled to immortal honour for their 
action on that day ; but, according' to the usual justice of the wri- 
ters of newspapers and gazettes, their namea have scarcely been 
mentioned on the occasion. 



46 

have becii in the men, or in the common bulk oi 
officers. 

Even the unhappy business of Fort Washington, 
which was attended with such abominable conse- 
quences, and which brought the affairs of Ameri- 
ca to the brink of ruin, when the circumstances 
are well considered, did honour to the officers and 
men, devoted to the defence of this worthless and 
ridiculous favourite. 

The defence of Red-Bank, by Colonel Green, 
and Mud- Island, by CoJonel Smith, forced a con- 
fession, even from the most determined infidels on 
this point, of the British officers, to the honour of 
American valour. I have often heard them al- 
low, that the defence of these two places were 
realty handsome things — that no men could have 
done better ; which, from unwilling mouths, is no 
small panegyrick. 

The victory gained by Stark, at Bennington, and 
the capture of Mr. Burgoyne's whole army, by 
Gates and Arnold, are, above all, convincing ar- 
guments of what excellent ingredients, in all re- 
spects, the force of America is composed. 

The detail of what passed lately on Rhode- Is- 
land is not yet come to my knowledge ; but, from 
all I have been able to collect, the men and offi- 
cers exhibited great valour and facility, as did their 
General, discretion, calmness, and good conduct. 
Upon the whole, I am warranted to say, what I 
always thought, that no disgrace or calamity has 
fallen on the arms of America through the whole 
course of the war, but what must be attributed to 
some other cause than to the want of valour, of 
disposition to obedience, or to any other military 
defect in the men, or the general mass of their offi- 
cers in their different ranks ; and I solemnly de- 
clare, that was it at my choice to select from all the 



47 

nations of (he earth to form an excellent and per- 
fect .iniiy, I would, without hesitation, give the 
preference to the Americans. By publishing this 
opinion, I cannot incur the suspicion of paying 
my court to their vanity, as it is notoriously the 
language I have ever held. 

I have been told, that one of the crimes impu- 
ted to me, is my entertaining a high opinion of the 
British troops. If this is a crime, 1 am ready to 
acknowledge it. There were times, I confess, 
when the promulgation of such an opinion would 
have been impolitic, and even criminal ; but in 
these times, it is not )rious to the world that my 
conduct was the reverse. Every thing I wrote, 
every thing I said, tended to inspire that confidence 
in their own strength, which it was thought the 
Americans wanted ; and it is believed, that what 
I said, and what I wrote, had no inconsiderable ef- 
fect ; but now, circumstanced as we are, I cannot 
conceive the danger, or even impropriety, in spea- 
king of them as they deserve, particularly as their 
excellence redounds to the honour of America. I 
could not help, whilst I was prisoner, being aston- 
ished at the bad policy and stupidity of some of 
the British officers, who m^de it their constant bu- 
siness to depreciate the character of the Americans 
in point of -courage and sense. I have often ex- 
pressed my astonishment, making a very natural 
observation to them, that if the persuasion of their 
opponents' cowardice and folly were established in 
the world, the great merits they themselves pre- 
tended to must, at the same time, be utterly des- 
troyed. That I have a very great opinion of the 
B'itish troops, I make no scruple to confess ; and 
unless I had this opinion of them, I do nat sec 
what gro\md I could have for my eulogiums on 
American valour. Tiiis is a truth, simple and 



48 

clear as the day; but be it as it will, it is noWinosl 
scrtain, let the courage and discipline of the Bri- 
tish troops be as great as imagination can paint, 
there is at present no danger from either the one or 
the other. The dangers that now threaten, are 
from other quarters ; from the want of temper, 
moderation, oeconomy, wisdom, and decision 
amongst ourselves ; from a childish credulity ; and 
in consequence of it, a promptness to commit acts 
of the highest injustice on those who have deser- 
ved best at the hands of the community ,- but above 
all, from the direct opposites to those qualities, 
virtues, and principles, without which it is impos- 
sible that the mode of government established 
should be supported for the tenth part oi a century. 
These, 1 assert, are now the proper objects of our 
apprehensions, and nat any real or supposed ex- 
cellence in the armies of Great Britain, who has 
infinitely more reason to fear for her own indepen- 
dence, than to hope for the subjugation of yours. 
General Clinton's letter, which has just appear- 
ed, has so wonderful an accord with the above es* 
say, that I make no doubt butthat some acute gen- 
tleman may insinuate that it furnished the hint : 
but I can appeal to more than fifty gentlemen of 
this city, or officers of the army, to whom it was 
read, previous to the publication of General Clin- 
ton's letter, whether a single syllable has been ad- 
ded or varied, the conclusion of the postscript ex- 
cepted, which has no reference to the affliir of Mon- 
mouth. 

It was a considerable time before Congress 
took the General's trial under their consideration, 
during which our unfortunate hsro continued 
Smarting under the frowns of fortune and the ma- 
lignant tongues of men ; and to add to his suffer- 



49 

ings in this state of suspense, he received a letter 
from Colonel Laurens, one of General Washing- 
ton's aids, informing him, '• that, in contempt of 
decency and truth, he had publicly abused Gene- 
ral Washington in the grossest terms ;" that, " the 
relation ih which he stood to him, forbade him to 
pass such conduct unnoticed; he therefore deman- 
ded the satisfaction which he was entitled to ; and 
desired, that as soon as General Lee should think 
himself at liberty, he would appoint time and place, 
and name his weapons." Without hesitation tliis 
T/as accepted ; and the General made choice of a 
brace of pistils, declining the small sv/ord, because 
he was rather in a weak state of bod}^, having late- 
ly received a fall from a horse, and also taken a 
quantity of medicine to baffle a fit of the gout, 
which he apprehended. They met according to 
appointment, and discharged their pistols, when 
General Lee received a slight wound in his side ; 
and it hath been said, that on this occasion, he dis- 
played the greatest fortitude and couraa:c. 

Shordy after, the proceedings of the Court Mar- 
tial on his trial came under consideration in Con- 
gress, and produced debates for several evenings ; 
but, finally, the sentence was confirmed. The Ge- 
neral was much dissatisfied with it, and his mind 
extremely embittered against one of the members., 
Mr. William Henry Drayton, of South Carohna. 
This gentleman's conduct was vituperated by Lee 
in the severest language, because he opposed io 
Congress a division of the several charges brought 
against him, but argued and insisted upon lump- 
ing them all together, to be decided by one ques- 
tion. In this he was ingeniously and warmly op-- 
posed by a very amiable and worthy gentleman, 
Mr. William Paca, a late governor of Maryland. 
Here we must observe, that prior to this, Mr. 



50 

©ray ton was by no means one of the General's 
favourites ; he had taken some unnecessary liber- 
ties with his character, in a charge which he dcli- 
rered as chief justice to a grand jury in Charles- 
town, South Carolina. His temper thus exaspe- 
rated, he could no longer refrain from emphatical- 
ly expressing his sense of the injuries he had re- 
ceived from Mr. Drayton. These were delivered, 
intermixed with threatening language, to Mr. Hut- 
bou, his colleague and friend, who communicated 
the same. A correspondence ensued, so remarka- 
ble for its poignancy of reply, as may be worth 
preserving in these memoirs. 

6IR, Philadelphia, Feb. 3d, 1779. 

My colleague, Mr. Hutson, hath this day 
mentioned to me, a conversation you had with 
him, in which you expressed yourself as injured 
by a misrepresentation of your conduct immedi- 
ately preceding your captivity by the enemy, in a 
charge I had the honour to deliver, as Chief Jus- 
tice, to the Grand Jury of Charlestown, South Ca- 
rolina. 

I must inform you, Sir, that, on the one hand, 
I have been repeatedly assured the representation 
I then made was a true one ; and that, on the other 
hand, I have also been assured, that it was not 
founded on fact ; and that, immediately upon this 
latter assurance in South Carolina, I took that 
step which was most likely to lead me to a certain- 
ty on the subject, witli the avowed design, that if 
I had injured your reputaticjn, I might be enabled 
to make the most ample reparation ; but I did not 
receive the necessary materials. Those sentiments 
of propriety which dictated the first advance on 
my part then, to acquire them now dictate a like 



51 

conduct when another opportunity seems to operi 
itself for my arriving at truth, and to do that jus- 
tice which the case may requite. And I do assure 
you, that if I can be enabled to declare, that you 
did not violate the orders of the commander in 
chief, respecting your junction withliim, when he 
had retreated to the Delaware in 1776, I shall not 
only do so in the most pointed terms, but beg your 
pardon for having through error and misrepresen- 
tation, published the contrary. 

To this purpose I wrote to Major Eustace on 
the 6th of January 1778, when I was in Charles- 
town, and had no prospect of coming to this part 
of the Continent ; and a copy of the correspon- 
dence between him and myself on the occasion I 
will lay before you, if you desire to sec it. 

Those principles of honour which must make 
you feel an injury, make me feel even an idea of 
having done an injury, and impels me to make a 
reparation where it is due. 
I am sir, 

Your most obedient Servant, 

Wm. henry DRAYTON. 
Major Gen. Lee, 

SIR, Philadelphia, Feb. 5th, 1779. 

I SHOULD have done myself the honour of 
answering your letter yesterday, but was prevented 
by a variety of business. If I have viola- 
ted ar.y orders of the commander in chief, to 
him, and the Congress only, am I responsible ; 
but certainly am not amenable to the tribunal of 
Mr. William Henry Drayton. I shall therefore 
remain entirely indifferent whether you are pleas- 
ed o think or dream that I designedly threw my- 
self into the hands of the cntmy, or Avhether I wXs 



52 

not taken by a concurrence of unfortunate circum- 
stances such as happen in the course of all wars. 
The only remark I shall make on your extraordi- 
nary requisition, that I should clear myself on this 
point to you simply, Mr. William Henry Dray- 
ton, whom I consider but as a mere common 
member of Congress, is, that you pay a very ill 
compliment to the General. You must suppose 
him either miserably deficient in understandings 
or in integrity as a servant of the public, when you 
suppose that he would suffer a man, for a single 
day, to act as his second in command, whom he 
):nows to be guilty of such abominable military 
treason. This ingenious supposition, therefore, is,; 
in ray opinion, a greater affront to the General 
than to myself. 

1 am sincerely concerned that my friend Eustace 
should have degraded himself so far as to enter 
into any discussion of this matter with Mr. Wil* 
liam Henry Drayton ; and I shall reprimand him 
for not understanding his own dignity better. I 
shall now only take the trouble of adding, that if 
you can reconcile your conduct in stepping out of 
the road, (as I am informed you did in your charge 
to the grand jury,) to aggravate the calamaties of 
an unhappy man, who had sacrificed every thing 
to the cause of your country, and as he then con- 
ceived, to the rights of mankind ; who had sacri- 
ficed an ample, at least an easy and independent 
fortune, the most honorable connections, great mi- 
litary pretensions, his friends and relations: I say, 
if you can reconcile your stepping out of the road 
to airsrravate the calamities of a man who had no- 
toriously made these sacrifices, and who, at the ve. 
ry time you was displaying your generous elo- 
quence, had no less than five centinels on his per- 
son, and was suffering extremely in body and 



mind — If you can, I repeat, reconcile such a pro- 
cedure to common humanity, common sense, or 
common decency, you must still be a more singu- 
lar personage than the public at present consider 
you. 

I am, Sir 

Your most obedient, 
Humble Servant, 

CHARLES LEK. 

William Henry Drayton, Esq. 

Philadelphia, Ftb. Qlh, 1 7 Zfh 
SIR, 

At nine o'clock last night, I received yours 
of the fifth instant, in answer to mine of the third. 
But, as I have neither time or inclination to enter- 
into a competition, whether Mr. Charles Lee, or 
Mr, William Henry Drajton, can raise the most- 
ingenious supposition, say the keenest thing, and 
pen the most finished period with parenthesis ; 
nor ambition to correspond -with you in your sim- 
ple character of Mr. Charles Lee, whom I cannot 
consider but as legally disgraced for being guilty 
of abominable military treason against a commu- 
nity of the most liberal, just, and generous, and. 
I must add, merciful people on the face of the 
globe : I say, perfectly satisfied with my simple 
character of Mr. William Henry Drayton, "a 
mere common member of Congress," and " a 
mere Chief Justice of South Carolina," 1 shah 
do myseif the honour, out of breath as I am with 
parentheses, to make only one observation in re- 
ply, absolutely terminating the correspondence on 
my part, that I verily believe we equally remain 
entirely indifferent with respect to what either is 
,^', pleased to think or dream." And now, finally 

B 2 



54 

taking my leave of Mr. Charles Lee, with coni^ 
mon decency from rcspect to my simple charac- 
ter, 

I subscribe myself, Sir, 

Your most obedient Servant, 

Wm. henry DRAYTON. 
Major Charles Lee. 

Philadelphia, March 15th, 1779. 
SIR, 

As I have now settled all my affairs, and as 
I am given to understand that you probably may 
soon set out for South Carolina, I take the liberty 
of addressing this letter to you, which is to close 
our correspondence for ever. Until very lately^ I 
■was taught to consider you only as a fantastic, 
pompous dramatis persona, a mere maholio, never 
to be spoke or thought of but for the sake of 
laughter ,- and when the humour for laughter sub- 
sided, never to be spoke or thought of more. 
But I find I was mistaken ; I find that you are as 
malignant a scoundrel, as you are universally al- 
lowed to be a ridiculous and disgusting coxcomb. 
You are pleased to say, that I am legally dis- 
graced ; all that I shall say in reply, is, that I am 
able confidently to pronounce, that every man of 
rank in the whole army, every man on the Conti- 
nent, who had read the proceedings of the Court- 
Martal (perhaps indeed I might except Mr. Penn 
of North Carolina, and Dr. Scuddcr of the Jer- 
seys, with a few others about their size in under- 
standing,) is of the opinion, that the stigma isnots 
on him on whom the sentence was passed, but on 
those who passed this absurd, iniquitous, and pre- 
posterous senteace ; for, to be just, I do not be- 
lieve you quite blockhead enough to think the 
:harge hatl a shadow of report v and if, by som^ 



55' 

wonderful metamorphosis, you should become an 
honest man, you will confess it. As to the confir. 
mation of this curious sentence, I do not conceive 
myself at liberty to make any comments on it, as 
it is an affair of Congress, for which body I ever 
had, and ought to have, a profound respect. I 
shall only lament that they are disgraced by so foul 
a member as Mr. William Henry Drayton. You 
tell me the Americans are the most merciful peo- 
ple on the face of the earth : I think so too ; and 
the strongest instance of it is, that they did not 
long ago hang up you, and every advocate for the 
stamp-act ; and do not flatter yourself, that the pre- 
sent virtuous airs of patriotism you may give your- 
self, and your hard laboured letters to the Com- 
missioners and the King, will ever wash away the 
stain. If you think the terms I make use of harsh 
or unmerited, my friend Major Edwards is com- 
missioned to point out your remedy. 

CHARLES LEE. 

William Henry Drayton, Esq. 

This correspondence, which produced nothing 
but inkshed, being finished, the General retired 
to his plantation in Berkeley county, Virginia, 
where, still irritated with the scurrilous attacks 
he had met with from several writers and others 
in Philadelphia, he could not forbear giving vent 
to the bitterness of his feelings ; and in this mis- 
anthropic disposition, composed a set of queries, 
which he styled Political and Military. These he 
sent by one of his aids to the printers of Philadel- 
phia, for publication ; but they thought it impru- 
dent to admit them into their papers, as General 
Washington possessed the hearts and admiration 
ef every one : he therefore applied t® the editgr 



56 

of the Maryland Journal at Baltimore, who indul- 
ged him with their insertion. The queries no soon- 
er made their appearance, but a considerable dis- 
turbance took place among the citizens of Balti- 
more : the printer was called upon for the author, 
and obliged to give up his name. General Reed, 
then President of the State of Pennsylvania, con- 
ceiying himself to be injured, published the sub- 
sequent piece for his justification. 

The aspersions which have been thrown on 
my own character from the press, I have ever 
despised too mrach to take the least notice of them ; 
but when a most valuable and amiable character 
is attacked through me, I think it my duty to 
remark it, and guard the public from error, even 
in opinion. 

In a set of queries, designed to lesson the cha- 
racter of General Washington, in a late paper, 
I am alluded to so particularly as not to be mis- 
taken, and quoted, as having furnished evidences 
under my own hand, that General Washington 
Was not the distinguished character the addresses 
of the Council of this State had represented; from 
, which an inference is to be drawn prejudicial 
to the General in point of ability, and the Council 
in consistency, so far as I had any share in those 
addresses. This insinuation I therefore think 
it my duty to contradict ; and though the sanc- 
tity of private and confidential correspondence 
has been grossly violated on this occasion I should 
have passed it by, if the fact had not been as gross- 
ly mis-stated. 

The only ground on which this insinuation can 
be made, arose from the following circumstance : 
In the fall, 1776, I was extremely anxious that 
^ort Washington should be evacuiited: there was- 



5Cf 

a, difference in opinion among those whom tlic 
General consulted, and he hesitated more than I 
ever knew him on any other occasion, and more 
than I thought the public service admitted. 
Knowing that General Lee's opinion would be a 
great support to mine, I wrote to him from 
Hackinsack, stating the case, and my reasons, and 
I think, urging him to join me in sentiment at the 
close of my letter ; and, alluding to the particular 
subject then before me, to the best of my recol- 
lection, I added this sentence : " With a thousand 
good and great qualities, there is a wantof deci- 
sion to complete the perfect military character." 

Upon this sentence, or one to this effect, wrote 
in haste, in full confidence, and in great anxiety 
for the event, is this ungenerous sentiment intro- 
duced into the world. The event but too fully 
justified my anxiety ; for the fort was summoned 
that very day, and surrendered the next. I abso- 
lutely deny that there is any other groimd but 
this letter ; and if there is, let it be produced. 
I have now only to add, that though General 
Washington, soon after, by an accident, knew of 
this circumstance, it never lessened the friend- 
ship which subsisted between us. He had too 
much greatness of mind to suppose himself inca- 
pable of mistakes, or to dislike a faithful friend, 
who should note an error with such circumstances 
of respect, and on such an occasion. I have 
since been with this great and good man, Tor 
such he is, at very critical moments ; and I hope 
I shall not be suspected of unbecoming adulation, 
when I assure my countrymen, (so far as my 
opinion is thought of any consequence), that 
they may repose themselves in perfect confidence 
on his prudence and judgment, which are equal 
to any circumstances j — -and that repeated expcri- 



58 

eiice of the value of his opinions, have inspired 
him with more dependence on them than his mo- 
desty and diffidence would in some cases former- 
ly admit. Time will shew, whether his enemies 
will not find themselves disappointed in their at- 
tempts to shake the public confidence, and lessen 
a character of so much worth, to gratify private^ 
violent resentments. 

JOSEPH REED. 

Philadelphia, July 14th, 1779. 

To judge of the propriety of General Reed's 
performance, it will be necessaiy to refer the rea- 
der to his letter in page , wdiich is a true copy 
from the original, in his own hand writing. 

Lee remained at his retreat, living in a style pe- 
culiar to himself, in a house more like a barn than 
a palace. Glass windows and plaistering would 
have been luxurious extravagance, and his furni- 
ture consisted of a very few necessary articles ; 
indeed he was now so rusticated, that he could 
have lived in a tub with Diogenes : however he 
had got a few select valuable authors, and these 
enabled him to pass away his time in this obscuri^ 
ty. In the fall, 1782, he began to be weary with 
the sameness of his situation ; and experiencing 
his unfitness for the management of country bu- 
siness, he came to a determination to sell his estate 
and procure a little settlement near some sea-port 
town, where he might learn what the world was 
doing, and enjoy the conversation of mankind. 

His farm, though an excellent tract of land, ra- 
ther brought him in debt at the end of the year, 
and added to the difficulties he laboured under. It 
is no wonder, then, he was inclined to relinquish 
liis present system of life. He left Berkeley, and 



59 

©ame to Baltimore, where he st;r»d near a week 
vvitli some old friends, and then look his leave for 
Philadelphia. 

It is presumed he now founda difference between 
a General in command^ and oiie destitute of every- 
thing but the name ; for we do not find him enter- 
tained at the house of any private citizen. He 
took lodgings at an inn, the sign of the Conesto- 
ga waggon, in Market- street. After being three 
or four days in the city, he was taken ^vith a shiv- 
ering, the forerunner of a fever, which put a period 
to his existence, October 2d, 1782. 

A friend of the Editor's was at the inn when he 
took his departure from this world. The servants 
informed him that General Lee was dying ; upon 
which he went into the room ; he was then strug- 
gling with the king of terrors, and seemed to 
have lost his senses ; the last words he heard him 
speak were, ''Stand by me, my brave grenadiers 1" 

The citizens of Philadelphia, calling to remem- 
brance his former services, appeared to be much 
affected at his death. His funeral was attended 
with a very large concourse of people, the clergy 
of different denominations, his excellency the pre- 
sident of Congress, the president, and some mem- 
bers of the council of the commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, his excellency the minister plenipoten- 
tiary of France, M. Marbois secretary to the em- 
bassy, the minister of finance, General baron de 
Viominil, duke de Lausam, the minister of war, 
and several other officers of distinction both in the 
J'rench and American army. 

From what hath been observed in these me- 
moirs, we may with justice afiirm, that General 
Lee was a great and sincere friend to the rights 
and liberties of mankind, and that it was this grand 
principle which led him to take part on the side of 



60 

America. It appears, that, from his youth, he was 
bred up with the highest regcrd for the noble sen- 
timents of ireedom ; his education and reading 
strengthened them ; the historians and orators of 
Greece and Rome, with whomhew^as considerably 
conversant, added to the sacred flame ; and his tra- 
vels in many parts of the world did not tend t6 
diminish it. 

When a boy, he was sent to an academy in 
Switzerland, and he has frequently said to his 
friends, that he was there struck with the general 
happiness, affluence and ease diffused throughout 
that country, notwithstanding its natural disadvan- 
tages of soil and climate. In one of his letters, 
he expresses himself in this manner : *' When I 
Avas quite young in Switzerland, I could not help 
comparing the robust well clothed commonalty of 
this country, with their miserable neighbours of 
France, a spot upon which nature seems to have 
taken pains to confer her favours. To France, na- 
ture has given the most fruitful soil, which produ- 
ceth not only every necessary, but every luxury of 
life. She has given to its people a lively, active, en- 
terprising genius, a climate upon the whole the 
best of the world — To the Swiss, she bequeathed 
rocks, mountains, and, as it is thought, very infe- 
rior mental faculties ; and yet the Swiss are rich, 
happy and respectable ; the French starving and 
contemptible. In Italy, the contrast betwixt the 
free, and those who are not free, is still more re- 
markable ; I know very well, that the republics 
of Genoa and Venice are not in general allowed to 
be free states. Monsieur Montesquieu has demon- 
strated that thev are not free ; but there is un- 
doubtedly some excellence in them, which has 
escaped this wise man — shall I beg leave to hazard 
a conjecture ? They have no king : Thev have n© 
frourt." 



61 

The General had read both men and books ; his 
reading and travels were extensive, and of course 
his manners easy and free of embarrassment ; so 
that he was frequently accustomed to deliver his 
sentiments and feelings without disguise, from the 
first impressions, according to the nature of the 
objects which presented. 

This liberality of conduct, and openness of dis- 
position, in a youngcountry, caused many to doubt 
of his belief in revealed religion ; the common 
people, at last, considered him as an atheist ; while 
those of a higher class were more indulgent to his 
principles. If we were to form a judgment on 
this subject, from his private correspondence, we 
should not accuse him as totally destitute of reli- 
gious notions, for it appears that he entertained 
some grand and sublime ideas of tlie Supreme 
Being, and was strongly persuaded that no society 
could exist without religion. 

He has often asserted, that he thought the Chris- 
tian religion, unincumbered of its sophistications, 
the most excellent, as comprehending the most di- 
vine system of ethics, consequently of a divine na- 
ture ; but at the same time he disapproved of the 
length and tediousness of the liturgies of the va- 
rious sects. As to the dogmas, he considered 
many of them absurd, if not impious, and dero- 
gatory to the honour, dignity and wisdom of the 
Godhead, or omniscient ruler and moderator of 
the infinity of worlds that surround us. 

The General, in his person, was of a genteel 
make, and rather above the middle size ; his re- 
markable aquiline nose rendered his face somewhat 
disagreeable. He was master of a most genteel 
address ; but, in the latter part of his life, became 
excessively negligent of the graces, both in his 
garb and behaviour. A talent for repartee, uni- 

F 



62 

ted with a quickness of penetration, created him 
many enemies. A character so eccentric an~d 
singular, could not fail of attracting the popular 
attention. His small friends frequently passed se- 
vere criticisms on his words and actions. Narrow- 
ly watched, every little slip or failure was noticed, 
and represented to his disadvantage. The objec- 
tions to his moral conduct were numerous, and 
his great fondness for dogs brought on him the dis- 
like and frowns of the fair sex : for the Genera! 
would permit his canine adherents to follow him 
to the parlour, the bed-room, and sometimes they 
might be seen on a chair next his elbow at table. 

As the ladies are commonly against any trans- 
gression of the laws of decency and cleanliness, it 
is no wonder a shyness commenced between them, 
and the General. This hath given some persons an 
idea of his being averse to women, which in reality 
was not the case ; for his life and posthumous pa- 
pers will furnish several examples of his early at- 
tachment to them ; and a letter to him, from a Bri- 
tish oflicer in Montreal, in 1774, convinces the 
Editor of his having been susceptible of the same 
feelings with other men, and of his having fre- 
quently indulged himself in gallantry with the la- 
dies. "During the winter," says this officer, who 
was the General's intimate friend, *' I took atrip 
to Quebec, where I passed several agreeable days 
with your queen. I delivered your compliments 
to her, and she enquired particularly about you, 
desiring me to return them most sincerely when- 
ever I wrote — She is the same amiable creature, 
whose disposition neither climate nor country can 
alter, and as strongly attached to you as ever." 
And his letter from Warsaw to Louisa, demon- 
strates the siime fact. 

There is great probability the General was the 



first person who suggested tlie idea that Ameriai 
ought to declare herself independent. When he 
was sent by the commander in chief to New- 
York, he behaved with such activity and spirit, 
infusing the same into the minds of his troops and 
the people, that Mr. John Adams said, " a happier 
expedition never was projected; and that the whole 
Whig world were blessing him for it." About this 
time Doctor Franklin gave Mr. Thomas Paine, the 
celebrated author of Common Sense, an introduc- 
tory letter to him, in which were these words : 
^' The bearer, Mr. Paine, has requested a line of 
introduction to you, which I give the more willing- 
ly, as I know his sentiments are not very different 
from yours. " A few days after, the Doctor writes 
again, " There is a kind of suspense in men*s 
minds here at present, waiting to see what terms 
will be offered from England — I expect none that 
we can accept ; and when that is generally seen^ 
we shall be more unanimous and more decisive. 
Then your proposed solemn league and covenant 
will go better down, and perhaps most of yonr 
other strong measures adopted." In a letter to 
Edward Rutlege, Esq. in the spring of 1776, thei^ 
a member of the Continental Congress, the Gene- 
ral thus expresses himself. " As your affairs pros- 
per, the timidity of the senatorial part of the con-- 
tinent, great and small, grows and extends itself. 
By the Eternal G — d, unless you declare your- 
selves independent y establish a more certain and 
fixed legislature than that of a temporary courte- 
sy of the people, you richly deserve to be ensla- 
ved, and I think far from impossible that it should 
be your lot ; as, without a more systematic inter- 
course with France and Holland, we cannot, we 
have not the means of carrying on the war." 
There are other epistles of his, of a similar spirit 
and diction. 



The more we investigate the GeneraPs charac- 
ter and conduct, the more conspicuous his services 
will appear. In the infancy of the American dis- 
pute, we all find him continually suggesting and 
forwarding plans for the defence of the country ; 
and though he was a professed enemy to a standing 
army, he was always recommending a well regula- 
ted militia. This he considered as the natural 
strength of a country, and absolutely necessary 
for its safety and preservation. 

He has frequently asserted, that a more perni- 
eioub idea could not enter into the heads of the ci- 
tizens, than that rigid discipline, and a strict sub- 
jecfion to military rules, were incompatible with 
civil liberty ; and he was of opinion, that when the 
^bulk of a community would not submit to the or- 
dinances necessary for the preservation of milita- 
ry discipline, their liberty could not be of long 
continuance. 

The libert}'^ of every commonwealth must be 
protected ultimately by military force. Military 
tbrce depends upon order and discipline : without 
order and discipline, the greatest number of armed 
men are only a contemptible mob ; a handful of 
regulars must disperse them. It follows then, that 
the citizens at large must submit to the means of 
becoming soldiers, or that they must commit the 
protection of their lives and property to a distinct 
body of men, who will naturally, in a short time, 
set up a professional interest, separate from the 
community at large. To this cause we may attri- 
bute the subversion of every free State that histo-. 
ry presents to us. The Romans were certainly 
the first and most glorious people that have figur- 
ed on the face of the globe ; they continued free 
longest. Every citizen was a soldier, and a sol- 
dier not in name, but in fact ; by which is meant, 



65 

tliat they were the most rigid observers of mili- 
tary institutions. The General therefore thought 
it expedient that every State in America should 
be extremely careful to perfect the laws relative 
to their militia ; and that, where they were glaring- 
ly defective, they should be made more efficient ; 
and that it should be established as a point of hon- 
our, and the criterion of a virtuous citizen, to pay 
the greatest deference to the common necessary 
laws of a camp. 

The most difficult task the Editor met with in 
collecting and arranging these Posthumous Pa- 
pers, arose from his desire of not giving offence to 
such characters as had been the object of the Ge- 
neraPs aversion and resentment. Unhappily his 
disappointments had soured his temper : the affair 
of Monmoutli, several pieces of scurrility from 
the press, and numerous instances of private slan- 
der and defamation, so far got the better of his 
philosophy, as to provoke him in the highest dcv. 
gree, and he became, as it were, angry with all 
mankind. 

To this exasperated disposition we may impute 
the origin of his political queries, and a number 
of satirical hints thrown out both in his conversa- 
tion and writing, against the Commander in Chief. 
Humanity will draw a veil over the involuntary 
errors of sensibility, and pardon the sallies of a 
suffering mind, as its presages did not meet with 
an accomplishment. General Washington, by 
his retirement, demonstrated to the world, that 
power was not his object ; that America had noth- 
ing to fear from his ambition ; but that she was 
honoured with a specimen of such exalted patri- 
otism as could not fail to attract the attention and 
admiration of the most distant nations. 

The reader will not wonder that General Lee, 
r 2 



66 

disappointed in his career of glory, should be con- 
tinually inculcating an idea of the extreme danger 
of trusting too much to the wisdom of owe, for 
the safety of the whole ; that he should consider 
it as repugnant to the principles of freedom and 
republicanism, to continue for years, one man as 
commander in chief; that there should be a rota- 
tion of office, military as well as civil ; and though 
the commander of an army possessed all the vir- 
tues of Cato, and the talents of Julius Caesar, it 
could not alter the nature of the thing ; since, by 
habituating the people to look up to one man, all 
true republican spirit became enervated, and a vi- 
sible propensity to monarchical government was 
created and fostered ; that there was a charm in 
the long possession of high office, and in the pomp 
and influence that attended it, which might cor- 
rupt the best dispositions. 

Indeed it was the opinion of Marcus Aurelius, 
whose virtues not only honoured the throne, but 
human nature, that to have the power of doing 
much, and to confine that power to doing good, 
%vas a prodigy in nature. Such sentiments of this 
divine prince, who was not only trained up in the 
schools of austere philosophy, but whose elevated 
situation rendered him the most able judge of the 
difficulty there is in not abusing extensive power, 
when we have it in our hands, furnish sul^stantial 
arguments for not entrusting it to any mortal what- 
soever. But while we are convinced of the just- 
ness of these sentiments, we are led the more to 
respect and reverence our most disinterested Com- 
mander in Chief, who stands conspicuous, with 
unrivalled glory, superior to the fascinations which 
have overthrown many a great and noble mind. 

The Editor conceives his present labours, in the 
compilation of this work, will be useful, and throw 



57 

some light on the history of the late revolution — 
a monument of the arduous struggle, exhibiting 
a faithful and valuable collection of military and 
political correspondence. 

EDWARD LANGWORTHY. 

Bcdtim&re, March 10th, 1787. 



MISCELLANEOUS PIECES;, 



FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE 



MAJOR GrENEBAlL LEJE. 



ss 



SKETCH OF A PL.I^" 

FOR THK 
FORMATION OF A MILITARY COLONY. 



.1 WILL suppose the number to consist of 
ten thousand men, with their full proportion of 
officers of different ranks, and children. There 
shall be no distinction made in the distribution of 
lands, betwixt the general officers and colonels ; 
but as it appears that there should, for the sake 
of order, be some diffifrence of property in the dif- 
ferent classes of men, I would propose the follow- 
ing plan of distribution. — When the capital is 
once fixed, immediately round it by lot — Every 
colonel to have two thousand five hundred acres ; 
every lieutenant colonel two thousand ; major fif- 
teen hundred ; captain one thousand ; lieutenants 
and ensigns seven hundred each : each serjeant 
three hundred ; every rank and file two hundred. 
Another circle dra^vn round it containing the same 
number of acres, shall be in common, for the use 
of the whole community ; where cattle shall have 
the liberty of ranging beyond this circle. Anoth- 
er shall be drawn, of an equal number of acres, 
with the same proportion of acres, for every mem- 
ber of the community. So that every colonel 
will, in fact, be master of five thousand acres, eve- 
ry lieutenant-colonel of four, every major of three, 
every captain of two thousand, and every rank 
and file of four hundred ; one half within the 
capital precinct, and the other half in what I call 
the pom cerium of the State : the intermediate 



7^ 

shall be allotted to the rearing of horses for the 
public strvioe, and cattle, to form magazines for 
war. 

The lots in the pomoerinm are intended for the 
children of the Stute, when rhey are of an age to 
settle and marry. As the colony is military, (as 
every colony ought to be, if they intend to be 
free,) a constant exercised militia shall be kept up, 
but by ounual rot tion : for which purpose, the 
fifth part of the men tit to bear arms, from seven* 
teen to forty. five, shall be embodied for two 
months of the year, their manoeuvres as simple 
as can be devised : but no sui)st tutes are to be al- 
lowed, on any pretence, but absolute infirmity ; 
and even those who are not embodied, shall, in 
their certain districts, be obliged to assemble eve- 
ry week, practise some simple evolutions, such as 
marching in front, retreating and rallying by their 
colours and all firing at marks. 

A standing small body of horse, and of artillery, 
shall be constantly kept up at the public ex pence, 
as these species of troops are not to be formed in 
an instant. An agrarian law shall be passed, and 
rigidly observed, restraining absolutely every 
member of the community from possessing more 
than five thousand acres of land, not only within 
tht precincts of the community, but anywhere else. 
No member of the community, unless he comes 
into the world deformed, or too weak to undergo 
the munly labours, shall be suffered to exercise 
sedentary trades, such as taylors, barbers, shoe- 
makers, weavers, &c. &.C. These effeminate and 
vile occupations shall be allotted to women, to the 
weak, deformed, and to slaves. Agriculture, 
hunting, and war, to be the only professions of the 
men ; to which may be added, the trade of smiths, 
carpenters, and those which do not emasculate. 



77 

led with robbers and assassins. Every where, 
for a series of years previous to the government 
of this excellent prince, were seen gallows, wheels 
and tortures of every kind ; and the robberies 
and murders were not at all less frequent. He 
had read and admired the Marquis of Beccaria, 
and determined to try the effects of his plan. He 
put a stop to all capital punishments, even for tlie 
greatest crimes; and the consequences have con- 
vinced the world of its wholesomeness. The 
galleys, slavery for a certain term of years, or for 
life, in proportion to the crime, have accomplish- 
ed what an army of hangmen, with their hooks, 
wheels and gibbets, could not. In short, Tusca- 
ny, from being a theatre of the greatest crimes and 
villanies of every species, is become the safest 
and best ordered State of Europe. 

It is a known fact, that since the adoption of 
this plan, there have been but two murders com- 
mitted : one by a little boy of eleven years old, 
in a stroke of passion ; and the other, not by a na- 
tive Italian subject, but by an Irish officer. But 
if we had not this example, and that of the Em- 
press Elizabeth, (who adopted the same plan, 
which had the same good effect) before our eyes, 
the inculcating an idea in a military people that 
death is the most terrible of all punishments, is 
certainly the most absurd of solecisms. Nothing 
great can be expected from a community which 
is taught to consider it as such. On the contra- 
ry, death ought, as far as human nature will admit, 
to be made a matter of indifference ; or, if pos- 
sible, (and I think it very possible, ) of comfort. 

I have often laughed at the glaring contradic- 
tion in the proceedings, in this article, in the Brit- 
ish armies, and others, in which I have served. I 
have seen two or three wretches who had the mis- 
€ 2 



78 

fortune to be detected marauding, or attempting 
to desert, taken out with awful form, encircled by 
a multitude who had been guilty of, or had intend- 
ed to have committed the same crimes, but hap- 
pily had not been discovered ; the chaplain, in his 
canonicals, telling them how dreadful a thing it 
was for their souls to be divorced from their bod- 
ies, and to be urged on to the tribunal of their 
Maker, with these horrid sins on their heads. A 
few hours afterwards, some desperate expedition 
ordered to be executed by the very men who had 
been present at the execution, who had commit- 
ted, or had intended to commit, the very same 
horrid crimes : and the officer appointed to com- 
mand the expedition, as usual, harrangues the sol- 
diers ; assures them that death is not a serious af- 
fair ; that, as all men must sooner or later die, it 
is of little moment when it happens. Thus it 
may be said, we blow hot and cold with the same 
breath. I am therefore absolutely and totally 
against capital punishments, at least in our milita- 
ry community. Let the loss of liberty, and igno- 
miny, be inculcated as the extreme of all punish- 
ments : common culprits therefore are, in propor- 
tion to the degree of their delinquency, to be con- 
demned to slavery, for a longer or shorter term of 
years ; to public works, such as repairing high 
ways, and public buildings, with some ignomini- 
ous distinction of habit, denoting their condition. 
As to those who have been guilty of crimes of a 
very deep dye, such as wanton murder, perjury, 
and the like, let them be mutilated, their ears cut 
off, their faces stamped with the marks of iiifamy, 
and whipped out of the State. 

I pass now to trade. — The persuasion that ex- 
tensive trade is the source of riches, strength, hap- 
piness and glory, is perhaps ont of the greatest 



7^ 

mistakes and misfortunes which modern societies 
labour under. Without doiibt certain cities, both 
of antiquity and the present world, from their pe- 
culiar situation and circumstances, owed their ex- 
istence entirely to their commerce ; such as Tyre, 
Venice, and Holland : but I cannot conceive how 
a community of soldiers and agricultors, who 
have lands enough to cultivate, not only for their 
own subsistence, but in a great measure for others, 
should have occasion for what is called great and 
extensive commerce. I think, on the contrary 
that it must emasculate the body, narrow the mind, 
and in fact corrupt every true republican and man- 
ly principle ; nay, I think it must destroy all sen- 
sibility for real pleasure and happiness. Let any 
man of taste or sensibility associate only for a few 
months with commercial men, or reside in a com- 
mercial city, he will iind their conversation dull, 
languid, and stupid ; their pleasures confined to 
gross eating and drinking ; their only idea of mirth, 
to the roaring of some vile hoarse singer : and of 
wit, to the story-teller of the club, or some wretch- 
ed punster, who lives on catches and crotchets* 
True music, elevating poetry, liberal history, and 
all polite literature ; a competent acquaintance 
with these, is necessary for those who have any 
share of the legislature : I mean those who are 
immediately entrusted with the executive or judi- 
cial powers. It is absolutely requisite to qualify 
iivery man of a liberal community for social con- 
versation. But although I object to professional 
merchants being permitted to reside in our govern- 
ment, it is certain that some degree of commerce 
or barter must be carried on, or agriculture and- 
hunting stand still, and of course idleness and all 
its attendant evils ensue. 

I would therefore propose, that on tlie frontiers 



80 



of tlie State, at least once in the year, a great fair 
should be established, to which merchants and ped- 
lars of all sorts and nations should be encouraged 
to resort. This fair to continue three weeks or a 



month. 



AN ESSAY 

ON THE 

COUP D'CEIL. 

J.T is the general opinion, that the coup d^ceildoti> 
not depend upon ourselves ; that it is a present of 
Nature ; that practice will not give it to us ; in 3 
word, that we must bring it into the world with us, 
without which, the most piercing eyes see noth- 
ing, and we must grope about in utter darkness. 
This is a mistake : we have all the coup d^ceil'in 
proportion to the degree of understanding which 
it has pleased Providence to give to us. It is de- 
rived from both ; but what is acquired, refines 
and perfects the natural, and experience insures it 
to us. It is manifest from the actions and con- 
duct of Amilcar, that he had it to a great and fine 
degree ; for he possessed all the qualities requi- 
site for it, and in the greatest point of perfection 
that perhaps ever any general carried them ; as 
may be remarked in the war of Er) ce, and that 
of the rebels of Africa. 

Before I enter into the explication of the me- 
thod that should be pursued to acquire this talent, 
falsely thought to be a gift of Nature, it is neces- 
sary to define it. — The military coup d^osil, then^ 
is nothing else than the art of knowing the nature 
and different situations of the country where we 
make and intend to carry the war ; the advantages 



I 

r 



81 

and disadvantages of the camp and posts that we 
mean to occupy ; as likewise those which may be 
favourable or disadvantageous to the enemy. By 
the position of our army, and the consequences 
drawn from it, we may not only form with preci- 
sion our designs for the present, but judge of those 
we may afterwards have. It is alone by this know- 
ledge of the country into which we carry the war, 
that a great Captain can foresee the events of the 
whole campaign, and, if it may be so expressed, 
render himself master of them; because, judg- 
ing from what he himself has done, of what the 
enemy must necessarily do, forced as they are, by 
the nature of the places, to regulate their move- 
ments to oppose his designs, he conducts them 
from post t© post, from camp to camp, to the very 
point he has proposed to himself to insure victory. 
Such, in a few words, is the military coup d^oeily 
without which it is impossible that a^ General 
should avoid falling into a number of faults of the 
greatest consequence. In a word, there are little 
hopes of victory if we are destitute of what is 
called the coup cfoeiloi war; and as the military 
science is of the same nature with all others that 
require practice to possess them in all the different 
parts that compose them, this which I treat of, is, 
of all others, that which requires the greatest prac- 
tice. 

Philopcemen, one of ihc gi-catest Captains that 
Greece produced, and whom an illustrious Roman 
has called the last of the Grecians, had the coup 
d^oeil, in an admirable degree ; but we ought not to 
consider it as a «:iftof Nature, but as the fruit of 
study, application, and his extreme passion for war. 
Plutarch informs us of the method he used to en- 
able* himself to see with his own eyes, rather than 
those of other people, when he was at the head of 
armies. The passage deserves to be quoted. 



8S 

*' He willingly listened/' says the Greek author, 
"to the discourses, and read the treatises of the 
philosophers ; not all, but only those which could 
nid him in his pursuit of virtue ; and of all the 
great ideas of Homer, he sou8:ht for, and retained 
those alone which could whet his courage, and ani^ 
mate him towards great actions : and of all other 
lectures, he preferred the treatises of Evangelus, 
called the Tactics, that is, the art of ranging troops 
in order of batde ; and the histories of the life of 
Alexander ; for he thought that language was of 
no further use than its reference to action, and that 
the only end of reading was to learn how to con- 
duct ourselves ; unless we chuse to read merely 
to pass the time, or to furnish ourselves with the 
means of keeping up idle and fruitless chat. 

When he had read the precepts and rules of the 
tactics, he did not trouble his head about seeing 
the demonstration of them by plans on paper, but 
made the application of them in the very scenes 
of action, and in open field ; for, in his marches, 
he accurately observed the eminences and low pla- 
ces, the breaks and irregularities of the ground, 
and all the forms and figures which battalions and 
squadrons are obliged to take in consequence of 
rivulets, ravines, and defiles, which force them to 
close or extend themselves. In general, it appears, 
that Philopoemcn had a very strong passion for 
arms ; that he emhraccd war as a profession that 
gave greater play to his virtues ; in a word, he de- 
spised all those as idle and useless members of the 
community, who did not apply themselves to it." 

These, in abridgement, are the most excellent 
precepts that can be given to a prince, the general 
of an army, and every officer who wishes to arrive 
at the highest degrees of military rank. This is 
the only method ; and, as the translator has very 



•83 

judiciously observed, renders the putting the pre- 
cepts into practice, on occnsion, more easy than 
by studying the plans on paper. Plutarch accuses, 
and even severely censures Philopcsmen for having 
carried his passion for arms beyond the bounds of 
moderation. Mons. Dacier docs not fail to chime 
in with him ; but, both the one and the other, 
without well knowing what they say, have passed 
an unfair judgment on this great Captain ; as if 
the science of war was not immense, and did not 
comprehend all others in its vortex ; and as if, to 
acquire a perfect knowledge of it, a long and labo- 
rious application was not necessary. Plutarch was 
no soldier ; his translator less so : it escaped both 
the one and the other, that Philopoemen was as 
learned as the greatest part of the Grecian ge- 
nerals, and that he applied himself to the study of 
philosophy and history, so necessary for military 
men. Why, then, be offended that a man should 
apply and give himself entirely up to the study of 
the sciences which have a relation to his profession? 
That of arms is not only most noble, but the most 
extensive and profound ; consequently it demands 
the greatest application. What this great Captain 
did to acquire the coup d'oeti, is extremely neces- 
sary and important for the command of armies on 
which depend the glory and safety of the State. 

There is no doubt but that tactics, or the art of 
ranging armies in the order of battle, of encamp- 
ing and tit^hting them, is a most royal attaiinnent. 
What could be the reason that Hannibal ranked 
Pyrrhus king of the Epirots, before Scipio, and 
immediately after Alexander, although the hthr 
was certainly the ablest man ? It was, doubtless, 
because the first cxrrllcd all mankind in this great 
part of wjr, although Scipio did not yield to him 
in this point, as he made appear at the battle Lama, 



Hannibal was less practised in this branch tlian the 
two others. Philopoemen saw that the study of 
tactics, and the treatises of Evangelus, were of no 
use to him, unless he joined to them the coup 
doeil, so necessary to the general of an army. His 
method always pleased me, and it is what I have 
ever practised in my journeys, and in the camp ; 
for we ought not to wait ibr the opportunity of 
war to acquire the coup cPoeil, but it may be learnt 
and obtained by iht excicise ol hunting. 

To I ttain this scienrc, many things are necessa- 
ry. ScvTre applic. tior. to our pr(;fession is the 
basis; then a certain method is to be adopted: 
Although that of this Grecian Captain is good, I 
think I have in-'p;oved upon it, or at least disco- 
vered that which the Grt ek author has omitted to 
teach us more particulaily. We are not always 
at war, nor is it to be supposed that we can render 
ourselves able by experience alone, on which in- 
deed the capacity of the greater part of military 
men in these ages is founded : it serves to perfect 
us, but is scarcely of any use unless the study 
of the principles accompany it; because, war 
being a science, it is impossible to make any pro- 
gress without beginning with the study of the 
principles. Two ages of perpetual war would 
scarcely suffice to furnish lights for our conduct: 
from the experience of facts, this ought to be 
left to souls of an ordinary stamp, and more 
compendious methods be provided for great Cap- 
tains to mount to the summit of glory, without 
being indebted for it to the capacity of others, 
v^l^j^ich is not always to be met with. It is, then, 
necessary to study war before we engage in it, 
and to apply ourselves incessantly after we are 
engaged in it. I have before said, that we are 
not always at war ; and I may add, that armies 



85 

.•ire noi always dra\^n together in a body, or in 
motion. They are for six months at least quiet 
in winter quarters ; and six months are not suf- 
ficient to form the coup (TkU of war. It is true, 
that a great deal more is to be learnt in marches, 
in forages, and in the different camps and posts 
which armies occupy : the ideas become more 
clear and capable to judge of, and reflect on, the 
country we see ; but this does not prevent us 
from making use of it, by the assistance of good 
sense, on other occasions than when in armies ; 
or form refining our judgment and eye, either 
by hunting, or on our journeys :— this I can speak 
of fro.n experience. 

Nothing contributes more to form the coiip 
(Vmly then the exercise of hunting : for, besides 
giving us a thorough knowledge of the country, 
and of the different situations, which are infinite, 
and never the same, it teaches us a thousand stra- 
tagems and other things relative to ^var. But 
the principle is the knowledge of the objects that 
form the coup d^ceii, without our being sensible of 
it ; and if we practise it with this intention, we 
may, whh the addition of a very few refiections, 
acquire the greatest and most important quali- 
fication of a gener al of an army. 

The great Cyrus, in giving himself entirely up 
to hunting, in his younger years, had the pleasu.e 
of it less in view than the design of qu.Jifyipg 
himself ibr war and the command of armies. 
Xenophon, who wrote his liie, does not leave us 
in the least doubt on this head. He says, thnt this 
great man, on his preparing for war with the 
king of Armenia, reasoned upon this expedition 
as if the question had been of a party of hunt- 
ing in a mountainous country. He explained him- 
self thus to Chrysantes, one of his general ofiicers, 

H 



86 

whom he had detached into the roughest parts 
and the most difficult valHes, in order to gain the 
entrances and issues, and to cut off all retreat to 
the enemy. " Imagine," says he, " that it is a 
chace we are engaged in, and that it is allotted to 
ihee to watch at the toils, whilst I beat the country. 
Above all, remember not to begin the chace be- 
fore all the passages are occupied, and that those 
who are placed in ambuscade be not seen, lest they 
should frighten the game. Take care liot to en- 
gage thyself too far in the woods, from whence 
thou mightest find it difficult to extricate thyself; 
and command your gaides, unless they could in 
deed shorten the distances, to conduct you by the 
best roads, which, with respect to armies, are al- 
ways the shortest." 

Whether or not Xenophon, in his history of 
Cyrus, has run into romance in order to give us 
an abridgm.ent of the military science treated histo- 
rically, is a matter of no great importance, pro- 
vided that all it contains relative to this science 
be just and solid. His intention is to convince us 
that hunting leads us to the knowledge of many 
things necessary to be known — that it is a becom- 
ing amusement, and extremely necessary to those 
who are either born to command or to obey ; be- 
cause it enures us to bear the fatigues of war, 
strengthens the constitution, and forms the coup 
d^oeil; for an exact knowledge of a certain ex- 
tent of country, facilitates that of others, if he' but 
sees it in the slightest manner. It is impossible, 
although they are widely different, that there 
should uo be some conformity betwixt them ; and 
the perfect knowledge of one (says Machiavel in 
his political discourses) leads to that of another. 
On ihc contrary, tho^e who are not trained in this 
practice, have the greatest difficulty to acquire it ; 



87 

whilst the others, by a single glance of the eye, 
can ascertain the extent of a plain, the height of 
a mountain, the depth, breadth, and termination of 
a valley, and all the circumstances of the nature 
of the different grounds to which they are accus- 
tomed by habit and experience. I do not believe 
that any other author, than this I have quoted, 
has treated of this matter. The remainder is 
excellent : I shall beg leave to transcribe it. 

'* Nothing is more true," continues he, " than 
whit I here advance, if we may give credit to Titus 
Liviuf-', and the example he presents to our eyes in 
the person of Publius Dccius, uho v/as Tribune 
in the Roman army, commanded by tlie Consul 
Cornelius, againstthe Samnites. It happened that 
this General suffered himself to be pushed into a 
valley, where the enemy might have pent him up. 
In this extremity, Decius says to the Consul, 
' Don't you perceive yonder eminence, which com- 
mands the enemy ? This is the post that alone 
can extricate us, if we do not lose a single mo- 
ment in making ourselves master of it, as the 
Samnites have been so blind as to abandon it.' 
But before Decius addressed himself in this man- 
ner to the Consul, he had discovered through the 
wood, a hill which commanded the camp of the 
enemy ; that it was steep, and of pretty difficult 
access for heavy armed troops, but practicable 
enough to the light infantry. That the Consul 
ordered the Tribune to take possession of it 
-svith three thousand men that he had consigned 
to him ; which having happily executed, the 
whole army retreated in order to put themselves 
in a place of safety. That he ordered some few 
of his people to follow, whilst there was yet some 
remains of day-light, in order to discover the pas- 
ses guarded by the enemy, and those by which v. 



88 

retreat might be made ; and he went to reconnoi- 
tre, dissruised in the habit of a common soldier, 
that the Sdmnites might not perceive that it was a 
general officer who was on the scout ." 

*' If we reflect," continues Machiavel, " upon 
what Titus Livius here says, we shall see how 
necessary it is for a good General to be able to 
judge of ihe nature of a country ; for if Decius 
had not possessed this talent, he would not have 
known how advantageous the possession of this 
hill must have been to the Romans ; and he 
would have been incapable of discovering at a 
distance, whether it was of easy or difficult access. 
When, afterwards, he had made himself master 
of it, and when the point was to rejoin the Con- 
sul, he would not have been able, at a distance, 
to discover which posts were guarded by the ene- 
my, and those by which a retreat was practicable. 
Decius, therefore, must certainly have been very 
intelligent in these sort of matters ; for otherwise 
he could not have saved the Roman army by pos- 
sessing himself of this hill, and afterwards extrica- 
ted himself from the enemy, who had surrounded 
him." 

There are very few military men who arc ca- 
pable of drawing, from an historical fact, such 
observations as these I have cited from Machiavel; 
the most consummate master in the profession 
could do no more. I am not at all surprized at it ; 
a profound and well-digested study of history ne- 
cessarily leads us to the knowledge of an infinity 
of things, which enables us to judge soundly and 
solidly of all. The study of politics, of which his- 
tory is the basis, is a powerful means of perfecting 
our understanding and judgment. 

The political and military discourses of this au- 
thor, on the Decades of Livy, are an immortal 



89 

work. I think them worthy the curiosity of all 
mihtary men — of bein£>j attentively read and well 
digested. His life of Castrucciom, one of the 
greatest Captains of his age, thouG,h not very much 
known, is not less admirable. It is every where 
ornamented with curious and very instructive facts; 
and filled with military reflections and observa- 
tions which few people are capable of making. 
So happy a turn had this man for the profession of 
arms, (excepting his book on the article of war, 
which does not do him a great deal of honour, al- 
though it is pillaged from Vegetius,) he is admir- 
able in all. He lived at a time when Italy was so 
agitated with trouble intestine and foreign wars, 
that we must not be surprised if a man of sense 
and judgment, and learned besides, was equal to 
so noble a performance ; because, as he was on 
the scene of action, he had the means of obtaining 
the most excellent materials, and of conversing 
with officers who had served in these wars. 



A PICTURE 



COUNTESS OF 



A HE Countess has, what we see seldom united 
in the same woman, vivacity and tenderness, dig- 
nity of person and feminine softness. She is tali 
and exquisitely shaped. She is of an amiable and 
commanding aspect. Her eyes are of the lan- 
guishing English blue, but of the Grecian large- 
ness and contour. Her forehead is of a polish 
and formation not to be matched. Her lips arc 
full and ripe, from which issues a breath which 
would create desires in age and coldness. Her 
neck is of such a colour and symmetry as to make 
h2 



90 

us curse iwvidious custom for preventing us ga- 
zing on the whole of so admirable apiece of work- 
manship. Her skin is of a smoothness that the 
slightest contact of it thrills through every pore^ 
and beats alarm to a thousand wishes. Her per- 
son is rather ample ; but we could not consent to 
its diminution, lest some grace or beauty should 
be lost. 

No man has seen her laugh ; but she smiles 
frequently. Her smiles seem rather to be the re- 
sult of an inclination to make those about her 
cheerful and happy, than of any inherent gaiety of 
disposition in herself. She has, at times, a dash 
of melancholy in her countenance, which is more 
becoming than her smiles. These short symptoms 
of melancholy I should attribute to her vacancy 
of heart, to her want of some one object upon 
which she may fix her affections ; a necessity 
which Nature has imposed upon Woman for a 
wise purpose — the perpetuation of the human 
race. 

She has faults ; but her faults seem to be ac- 
quired — her virtues a native inheritance. She is 
so general, that it almost amounts to coquetry. 
She makes too little distinction betwixt the men 
. of merit and sense, and the foolish and undeserv- 
ing. She can cruelly suffer the sincere re- 
spectful lover to languish without a glimmer of 
hope, and give encouragement to the assured, in- 
different coxcomb, who would boast of favours 
which she is, perhaps, determined to confer ori 
no man. She has the appearance of being so 
satisfied with these reptiles, that you would suspect 
her understanding, did not every sentence which 
she utters correct this mistake. She may be accu- 
sed in this, of ingratitude towards her benefactress 
Nature, who bestowed on her such uncommon ta« 



91 

ients, not to be hebetated by the galimatias of fools, 
but, by a proper application of her time, to be per- 
fected into mental endowments proportionable to 
her personal charms. She acts wisely in bcinjj 
cautious of a second marriage, as the great for- 
tune which she is possessed of, must render it diffi- 
cult for her to distinguish who courts her riches, 
who herself. But the man who shall be happy 
enough to obtain her, will do well to hurry his prize 
to some retreat from the great world, as the facili- 
ty which I complain of might create him UiUch un- 
easiness ; for it is an eternal truth, that great love, 
and some degree of jealousy are inseparable. 
There thou mightest, O envied mortal ! enjoy 
perpetual happiness ; if candour, frankness, good 
nature, understanding and beauty could make 
thee happy. 



AN ACCOUNT OF A CONVERSATION, CHIEFLY 
RELATIVE TO THE ARMY. 

^OME time ago, I made one of a company of 
officers, whose conversation was not confined, as 
is too much the custom of gentlemen of our pro- 
fession, to buckles-, buttons, garters, grenadier 
caps, or, what is little better, the figure that such 
or such a regi?nent made in their puerile reviews 
for the amusement of royal masters and misses, 
great and small, in Hyde Park, or o?i Wirnbleton 
Common > our discourse fell upon the history of 
England, and the respective merits of the different 
historians. 

A young subaltern, who seemed to have great 
fire and sentiment, and with more reading than 
young subalterns are generally masters of, was ex- 
tremely bitter on Mr Hume : he loaded him with 
a thousand opprobriums ; he styled him a sophist, 



92 

a Jesuit, a theislical champion of despotism, who 
had dethroned the God of Heaven, and deified the 
sceptered monsters of the earth. The young man 
was taken up by a grey-headed field-officer, who 
was so warm a partizan of Mr. Hume's, that he 
leaned not only towards absolute (or in his favour- 
ite author's terms) pure unmixed monarchy, but 
visibly towards jacobitism. He spoke of Charles 
the First with an idolatrous reverence, and of all 
his opponents with the greatest horror and indig- 
nation : this led him to a great deal of abuse on 
Mrs. M'Cawley ; he lamented that a composition 
of this nature was suffered to be published, which 
must instil the most damnable republican princi- 
ples into the minds of our youth ; that it already 
had diminished that respect to royalty so neces- 
sary to be kept up ; and that the young gentle- 
man who spoke last had furnished us with an in- 
stance, that the army had not escaped the conta- 
gion — a most alarming consideration ! as their 
disrespect to crowned heads was not manifested 
alone by opinions injurious to the royal martyr, 
but that several of them had frequently in their 
conversations declared their disapprobation of 
some parts of the present reign ; that such senti- 
ments, and such language, were not only repug- 
nant to the spirit of ourmilitarylaws, but indecent 
and ungrateful in those who eathisMajesty'^ shrcad. 
This he uttered with so much emphasis, that the 
greatest part of the company was terrified into si- 
lence ; and the young subaltern began to think he 
had been guilty in some measure of treason, and I 
believe would have prevaricated himself into 
other sentiments than those he had professed, had 
I not taken up his cause, justified all he had ad- 
vanced, and encouraged him to foster the noble 
principles he bad imbibed. I demanded of our 



93 

veteran to explain his meaning in sayins^ that rue 
eat bis Majesty''s bread ; whence h;.d his M j'^sty 
drawn tunas to feed so many mouths? Were cof- 
fers of gold transported from his personal estates 
in Germany ? or, had be discovered in his gardens 
at Kew, treasures sufficient for such prfHrligious 
munificence ? Were the officers of the army for- 
lorn and starving in the streets, without patrimo- 
ny, relations and friends ; cut off by their coun- 
try, from all means of supporting themselves ; 
in a word, precluded from all the possibilities, 
presented to other members of society, of procu- 
ring a livelihood? Had his Majesty found the 
whole body of us in this wretched desperate 
situation, and out of the vast benevolence of his 
soul, and at his own individual expence, without 
the least incumbr?- ce to the nation, redeemed us 
from hunger and nakedness, fed us comfortably, 
clothed us in smar^ ed coats, put swords by our 
sides, and erected u.s into the condition of gentle- 
men ? I said, if these things could be proved, but 
on no other terms, I would agree with the gentle- 
man who spoke lai.% that %ve really did eat the 
king^s bread, and that v/e were perliaps in duty 
bound to approve all his measures, and all those 
of his ministers, whether right or wrong, glorious 
or inglorious, stJutary or pernicious. — But, on the 
other hand, if we considered ourselves, as we re- 
ally were, only as a class of one great free people, 
segregated from the rest into this distinct class, 
and subjected to particular laws necessary for the 
maintenance of military order and discipline, with- 
out which we could not answer the ends of our 
institution, that is, the im?nediate defence of our 
mother country against foreign invaders, and the 
preservation of our colonies and external posses- 
sions-, the great basis and support of our ''-ommerrf.^ 



94 

eaithy and marine ^consequently our national im- 
portance and independance : I said the King might 
be considered, partly in the same predicament with 
the officers of the army, or the fleet, viz. a great 
servafit of the community^ or mass of the people^ 
ordained and subsisted for the public service ; with 
this difference, that each individual of the army, 
or fleet, contributed as a citizen, and one of the 
people, to his subsistence, as a soldier, or servant 
of the great aggregate, of which he himself, in 
another sense, formeda part; whereas the king was 
simply a receiver ; in no respect a contributer ; so 
that it might in fact be said with more propriety, 
that the king eat the officer of the army's bread, 
than that the officers of the army eat the king's. I 
confessed that his Majesty, as one branch of the 
legislature, and executive magistrate, was entitled 
to a very high degree of reverence from soldiers 
as well as other citizens, as long as he fulfilled the 
duties of his station ; but that still a higher de- 
gree of reverence and attachment was due to the 
freedom, laws, prosperity and glory of our coun- 
try, than personally to the first magistrate, let him 
fill his office ever so worthily. When it was re- 
membered, I added, that the present reigning fam- 
ily^ had been taken from a German electorate, not 
the most considerable, exalted to the head of a 
mighty empire, endowed with adequate revenues, 
and invested with the godlike powers of executing 
justice, but softening its rigours, of dealing out 
mercy, but restrained from evil ; I said-, when 
these things were remembered, should his present 
Majesty, or any of his successors, pervert the pow- 
er granted by the generosity and confidence of the 
people, to the prejudice or dishonour of the peo- 
ple, the officers of the army, no more than any 
other class of citizens, could not be taxed v/it.h in- 



95 

gratitude, or indecency, in censuring their prince, 
but the prince in furnishing matter of censure. — 
The old field officer began to soften : he confessed 
that his expression with respect to the officer's eat- 
inghis Majesty's bread was improper ; but. still in- 
sisted, that tlie army ought to be more reserved in 
their censure than any otiier order of men, as they 
seemed to be held in higher esteem by the present 
Court than any other order. In this again I to- 
tally differed from the old gentleman. I asserted 
it was the reverse ; that the army had been treat- 
ed through the Vv'hole present reign, both individu- 
ally, and collectively, with more contempt and in- 
gratitude than in any reign of any age or any coun- 
try ; that the ill usage of the army had not been 
confined to the living, it had extended to the 
dead. To begin with Mr. Wolfe, to whose valour 
and conduct we owed the acquisition of a mighty 
empire, how irreverently had his ashes been treat- 
ed by government ! The nation had indeed grate- 
fully and generously voted a monument to their 
hero ; the nation had paid the money, but unfor- 
tunately his Majesty's ministers were the trustees; 
to this -day therefore we see no monument erect- 
ed ; the money raised on the people for this pur- 
pose, having probably been converted to the use of 
some living worthies, not very fiir distant from 
Westminster Abbey. But they were not satisfied 
with depriving the hero of these trophies ; they 
had piqued themselves in adding every insult to 
his memory. The man who had served, or rath- 
er disserved, under him ; who had shewn activity 
only in embarrassing his counsels, impeding his 
measures, and labouring to defeat his purposes ; 
who had strained his hardbound wit to throw a ri- 
dicule on his conduct ; who, whenever he could 
find an audience passive and base enough to his 



96 

mnid bad poured forth torrents of abuse, and en- 
deavoured to raise a spirit of faction and mutiny 
in others, equal to that stirred up in his own breast, 
by the daemon of envy ; who after his glorious 
death, had not paid the slightest tribute of respect 
to his memory, or of ceremony to his remains ; 
who had attempted to filch his laurels off the shelf\ 
and put them in his pocket : This man, I said, had 
been loaded with the highest preferments, and the 
greatest honours, (if any thing which flows from 
such a court can be deemed honours,) which our 
court has to bestow. — Let us next observe how 
the brave band, who conquered under him, and 
indeed the whole American army, had been recom- 
pensed, officers and soldiers. The first instance of 
gratitude exhibited by our government, w^as the 
depriving them of their provision, without which 
it is almost impossible that an American soldier 
should subsist : the vast consumption of necessa- 
ries occasioned by the nature of that hard service, 
from clearing communications, building bridges 
and forts, but above all from transporting provi- 
sions, ammunition and artillery up the rivers, and 
the enhanced price of these necessarie?, as they 
all come from England, by the freight and profit 
of the merchants, put an American soldier, al- 
though allowed provision, in a worse condition 
than an European without it ; particularly when 
we consider, that an European soldier is paid 
for all king's or public works, whii h in Ame- 
rica was not the case. But die cruelty of this 
measure was not all : it was flagitious ; it was a 
breach of compact, at least with respect to a great 
part of that army — tlie volunteer drafts from 
England, the whole body of royal Americans, and 
every man recruited in Americii, were engage i on 
absolute express conditions of beiag allowed pro- 



vision. Travelling from North America to llic 
West Indies, the lenderness of the present reign 
displayed towards the soldiery is still more striking ; 
the distribution of the plunder of the Havanna 
is so notorious that it would be impertinent to men- 
tion it ; but the motives of this distribution are so 
curious, that it is notdiificult frequently to recur to 
them. They were these : The Earl of Bute and 
his great adjunct lived in perpetual apprehensions 
i)f the late Duke of Cumberland ; the firmness of 
the man, his known courage, his good sense, but 
above all his principles and attachment to the wel- 
fare and honour of his country, rendered him an 
object of terror to those who were determined to 
sacrifice every thing to the maintenance of their 
own power and authority — :ifter havipg revolved 
in their minds what was th'" most probable me- 
thod of softening this bar to their schemes into some 
complacency, it was concluded, that to win his 
favourite, was the plan of the most promising as- 
pect. 

The expedition against tlie Havanna was at 
this time resolved upon ; th.e troops and fleet were 
in readiness ; niy lord of Albermarle was oil this 
principle appointed to the command, and on this 
principle so enormously enriched atthcexpenceof 
the labour, health, and blood of the most noble 
deserving army that this, or perhaps any other 
country, has been ever ser\'ed by. His lordship and 
Iiis family were indeed aggrandized ; but the G;reat 
views of the distributers were happily disappoint- 
ed. The Duke of Cunjberland persisted in his in- 
tegrity, and continued an honest zealous citizen, 
until the fatal moment when he was snatched away 
from his country. I think, without rant or exag- 
geration, it may be termed a fatal moment : — he 
was indisputably a valuable true Englishman :. he 

I 



98 

had in the early parts of his life, through an over 
zeal for reforming the. army from the miserable 
condition in which he found them, projected schemes 
not unexceptionable ; but this must be ascribed to 
a deference which he paid to the opinion of men 
infinitely inferior to himself, both in virtue and ta- 
lents ; but in his latter years, his great and good 
qualities demonstrated themselves so fully, that 
we may fairly conclude, had fate spared him, he 
might at least have checked the torrent of those 
bitter waters broke in wpon us from their accursed 
source of Carleton-House. — But before I take 
leave of America, I cannot help observing the ex- 
traordinary attentioji paid to the ofHcers and sol- 
diers in the allotment of lands ; it would be end- 
less to enter into the detail of the royal or ministe- 
rial (for these terms have been of late so confoun- 
ded together that it is puzzling todistinguish them) 
bounty in this particular ; I shall instance one or 
two which may suffice for the whole. 

It had long been supposed that the island of St. 
John's, in the gulph of St. Lawrence, would have 
been a profitable possession. A set of officers of 
the land and sea service, laid out a plan for the 
settlement of it. They presented it to Govern- 
ment, and petitioned a grant of it. The grant 
was promised. The officers dangled from day to 
day for the fulfilling of this promise. They were 
shuffled from the Admiralty to the Board of Trade, 
from the Board of Trade to the Admiralty, from 
an Egmont to an Hilsborough, from an Hilsbo- 
rough to an Eg^mo'it, for the space, I believe of 
three years. Kgniont accuses Eiilsborou.^h as the 
cause of this delay ; Hilsborough accuses Egmont; 
his Msj'rsty stai;ds neuter betwixt these two righ- 
teous personages. 

The officers danced attendance until thev found 



»9 

themselves on the threshold of a jail •, but at length 
it is decided : The officers who \yere the original 
petitioners, got half a lot. Mr. Touchit, or 
Touchat, (for I have not the honour of know- 
ing how he spells his name,) some court surgeons, 
and every kind of court retainer who thinks it 
worth his while to hint that he has no objection 
to an American possession, is gratified wiih a 
whole lot. 

Another society of officers had solicited a grant 
of lands on the river St. Lawrence, \vhich they 
undertook to settle ; this was flatly refused. 

Another society solicited for lands on the lower 
parts of the Illinois, Ohio, or on the Mississippi : 
this was likewise rejected ; but from what motives 
it is impossible to define, unless they suppose that 
soldiers invested with a little landed property, 
would not be so readily induced to act as the in- 
struments of the oppression of their fellow subjects, 
as those whose views are solely turned, if not re- 
duced, to farther promotion ; and if reduced, to 
full pay. And here I am afraid the understandings 
of our profession must appear dreadfully low, 
when they can be dupes to the hopes of promo- 
tion. 

Let them reflect for a moment on the mode of 
bestowing, since the peace, the only commission 
which by military men can be esteemed objects ; 
I mean regiments, and lieutenant-colonelcies ; and 
I will venture to affirm, that not four of each 
have been bestowed on men who, in the opinion 
of those who have served with them, have the 
semblance of a title. Th st the army on the En- 
glish and on the Irish establishment, and the fleet 
on the home and foreign stations; have been con- 
sidered by our court as the precious means of 
corrupting us from our duty as citizens ; that a 



100 

plea of merit in general, or any jxirticular action, 
of wounds, loss of health or limbs by a course of 
hard services, has been considered as a symptom 
of lunacy. And I have heard say, our incom- 
parable Secretary at War values him.self not a 
little for his humanity in not suing for statutes to 
confine the wretches who can push their extra- 
vagance to such a height as to make these pleas. 
It will perhaps be said, that jobs are not the 
growth of this reign ; that jobs ever were, and 
eycr will be, in a government like ours. But al- 
lowing jobs to have been, I cannot think iniquity 
is to be justified by precedent ; and surely iniqui- 
tous precedents are very ungracefully quoted in 
a reign which v^^as announced from its commence- 
ment to be that of virtue, purity, and righteous- 
ness. 

As to the army that served in Germany, it is 
true they have not been so very grossly treated as 
the American. There were moments when Lord 
Granby would not cede to our gracious Secreta- 
ry at War. There were moments when, «s our 
ingenious court termed it, he was obstinate and 
impracticable ; that is, there were moments when 
he insisted on some regard being paid to those 
who had deserved of their country ; but these 
moments unfortunately occurred but too seldom. 
His facility and complacence to the wickedness of 
the Court, preponderated over his natural love of 
justice. In short, the patronage of the army was 
left to a Barrington, by whom valour, sense and 
integrity must naturally be proscribed, as he must 
suspect that no man can possess them without 
being an enemy to their contraries, which are the 
undisputed attributes of his Lordship. 

From this long digression on the obligations 
of the army to the present Court, on the extraor- 



lOi 

clinary esteem in which the militar}- has been held 
through the whole course of the present reign, \vc 
returned to our original topic, the merit of the dif« 
ferent historians. 

I joined the young subaltern in his encomiums 
on Mrs. M'Cawley. I challenged the old field- 
officer to point out a suspicious authority that she 
had quoted ; to produce a single comment which 
did not correspond with the facts. I asserted, 
that her inferences were fairly drawn from her 
premises ; and that there could not be traced the 
shadow of partiality in the long series of her his- 
tory, unless a zeal for true liberty, and the rights 
of her country and of mankind, may be termed 
partiality. I asserted, that Hume was the reverse 
in all respects ; that he produced little, and that 
very suspicious, authority ; that his comments did 
not agree with his facts, the effects not deduciblc 
from the cause ; upon the whole what I said on the 
subject of James's history, and of the character of 
his favorite Charles, was so satisfactory to the com- 
pany, that they requested me to digest v/hat I offer- 
ed, and to present it to the public. 



AN EPISTLE TO DAVID HUME, ESa. 
SIR, 

1.N reading history, nothing has so frequently 
shocked me as the disrespectful and irreverent 
manner in which divers writers have spoke of 
crowned heads. Many princes, it must be owned, 
have acted, in some instances not altogether as we 
could wish ; but it is the duty of every honest 
man, and friend to royalty, the great source of hu- 
man happiness, to draw a veil over their weakness ; 
and if not able entirely to justify some parts of 

I 2 



102 

their conduct, he may at least, by the aid of certaiu 
managed terms, and decent softenings, in a great 
measure prevent the evil effects which a coarse, 
and I may say barbarous relation of facts is apt to 
have on weak and vulgar minds. The passion, 
prejudice, and party heat of several who style 
themselves historians, have, I make no doubt, 
been the principal causes of the numberless mur- 
murs, insurrections, rebellions, dethronements, 
expulsions, regicides, which have disgraced the 
history of mankind, and more particularly of this 
infatuated country. 

On this principle, sir, you will readily believe, 
that the satisfaction I have received from your in- 
comparable History of the House of the Stuarts,, 
is of the highest kind ;. tliat I have perused it, 
iftnd re-perused it a thousand times, and always 
ivith fresh pleasure ; and that I ardently ^vish the 
3'outh of our country were never suffered to read 
nny other ; a rule which I am charmed to hear is 
obser>ned by the most exalted personage in the 
kingtlom, as v/ell in virtue as in rank, v\^henever 
he condescends to unbend his mind from his se- 
vere studies and occupations by dipping into the 
annals of his predecessors ; and it is to this rule,, 
perhaps, that we are indebted for the pj;odigiou& 
enlargement of his mind in so tender an age that 
all Europe stands astonished at it. 

How complaisant, how gentle, how guarded, 
how humane, how polite are your phrases, in lay- 
ing before usthe transactions of those good, though 
perhaps misguided, princes ! How calculated are 
your comments to mitigate the seditious spirit of 
the mad multitude ! Had you written an hundred 
years ago, I am persuaded you would not only 
have prevented the growth of those horrible 
epinions, (alas! too preralent,) that kings are 



103 

not only responsible, but punishable for tlicir 
delinquences towards their people ; that Charles 
the First met with no harder fate than he deserved, 
and that his two sons ought, in justice, to have 
made the same exit. I say, sir, had you written 
an hundred years ago, you might not only have 
prevented the growth of such monstrous notions ; 
but, probably, have checked those furious princi- 
ples which ended in driving from the throne of his 
ancestors, to the indelible disgrace of these nations, 
a prince replete with every royal virtue. 

In short, sir, I am so much in love with the 
scheme of your history, I am so convinced that 
no task can be equally laudable in a philosophei% 
an historian, and a gentleman, as to endeavour, 
to eradicate from the minds of our youth all pre- 
judices and prepossessions against the memory of 
deceased, and the character of living princes ; and 
by obviating the cavils and malice of republican 
writers, to inspire mankind with more candour 
in judging of the actions and government of 
sovereigns, that I am determined to follow so 
bright an example, and exert the utmost of my 
zeal, skill, and abilities, (indeed far short of yours,) 
to rescue from the unmerited odium under which 
they lie, two much injuried characters in history ; I 
mean the Emperor Claudius Cassarandhis immedi- 
ate successor Nero, whose foibles and indiscretions 
have been swelled up into vices by the austerity 
and malevolence of Tacitus, Suetonius, and others, 
(the Rapins, Ludlows, and M'Cauleys of those 
days,) who wrote under succeeding monarchs 
of a different family ; but as the motives for such 
virulent proceedings are now ceased, and as men's 
minds ought to be a little cooler, we may ven- 
ture to pronounce the disposition of these princes, 
(though I do not think they were faultless, or al- 
together well-advised,) to have been good. 



104 

Should tlie ungenerous and biggols in party raise 
a clamour, should they exclaim that its being a 
pander to despotism, and an enemy to the rights 
of humanity, the endeavouring to gloss over vices 
and enormities so manifest, as they pretend, by a 
concurrence of facts, vouched by the most authen- 
tic records, I shall conclose myself, sir, with your 
approbation, and that of the generous few who 
think with you, and shall flatter myself that the 
attempt, whatever may be the merit of the execu- 
tion, will recommend me, along with the Smd- 
lets, Scotts, Murphys, and Johnsons, to the no- 
tice of a Court which seems to pique itself in 
rewarding the champions and apologists of un- - 
popular men and measures, in proportion as their 
labours are unsuccessful with the narrow-minded 
public. Your^ &c. 



A POLITICAL ESSAY. 

On leaving school, I thought it right to get 
some acquaintance with the history of Eng- 
land ; for the school w^here I was brought up 
was guilty, in common with all other schools, of 
the shameful neglect of suffering the boys to re- 
main in utter ignorance of the laws, constitution, 
andtransactions of their own country; some know- 
ledge of which is certainly of more importance, 
at least in a government Hke our^, than the being 
able to scan the flattering versifyers of x\ugustus*5 

age. 

Rapin, accidentally, was the first historian that 
fell into my hands. Notwithstanding his length, 
I read him through with great attention, which 
was more particularly engaged when I came to 
tliose parts which treat of our several civil wars : 



105 

but the great one of the year 1640, interested 
me more sensibly than the antecedent. And I 
cannot express how much I was amazed in finding 
the character of Charles the First so httle agree 
with the notions I had conceived of him, from 
his being styled a martyr ; from the solemn ob- 
servance of the 30th of January, in order to avert 
the wrath of the Almighty for tliat horrible parri- 
cide ; from the epithets of good, viiaious, pious, 
blessed, which were perpetually bestowed on 
him, not only by the old house-keeper, the maid- 
servants, but by the master, usher, and all the 
clergy who happened to discourse on this subject 
in my hearing. In the holidays, when we went 
home, my mother, grandmother, and all their 
female acquaintance, rung the same in my ears. 

On the perusal of Rapin I was, therefore, 
strangely puzzled and confounded to find this vir- 
tuous, pious, blessed, holy martyr, metamor- 
phosed into an obstinate, dissembling, perfidious 
tyrant ; and that the men whom I had been 
taught to execrate as rebels, traitors, parricides, 
should, for the greater part, appear the champions 
of the laws of their country and the rights of man- 
kind, fraught with truth, valour, integrity, and 
every attribute which can render mortal men the 
objects of veneration. 

I had no method of accounting for this, 
but by concluding my historian guiity of the 
most egregious partiality, tliat he must have mis- 
stated, or di«5guised the facts to an enormous de- 
gree ; for as to his comments, they appeared judi- 
cious, natural, and fair, allowing the facts to be 
justly stated. I desired all those whom I thought 
more knowing and wise than myself, to solve these 
difficulties. Some few of them averred that 
Charles was not at all better than what he was re- 



106 

resented by Rapin ; but far the greater number 
assured me, that Rapin was a lying French Pres- 
byterian, partial, unjust, malicious, that no credit 
was given to him by men of judgment and know- 
ledge, and that he was never spoke of with com- 
mon patience by those who have any generous 
sentiments- They advised me, by all means, to 
go to the fountain-head of information on this 
subject, the great Clarendo?i ; that there I should 
see the facts related clearly and honestly, the com- 
ments sensible and candid, the causes and effects 
congruous, the spring of every action laid open, 
the views and characters of the actors painted in 
their proper colours by one who had himself play- 
ed a principal part, or, at least, seen every thing 
that had passed behind the scenes ; one, whose 
authority was incontestable from his character for 
truth and integrity. 

I accordingly procured a Clarendon, not only 
read him with attention, but studied him with ac- 
curacy : and, behold the result ! it was an entire, 
complete disappointment in every circumstance : 
instead of carrying the conviction which I expec- 
ted, it appeared to me one eternal periphrasis, 
subdivided into assertions without authority, child- 
ish ifs, without probable suppositions, and tortu- 
red inferences from rnistated or defalcated facts, 
with endless begging the questions. I'he epithets 
candid, sincere, virtuous, pious were very liberal- 
ly bestowed on him, whose cause he intends to 
plead ; and not a single instance of candor, sin- 
cerity, or virtue Is given through the whole course 
of his history, unless excessive bigotry to episco- 
pacy and a spirit of persecuting all other protest- 
ant sects is to be construed piety. In short, my 
aversion to Charles was rather confirmed that trans- 
ferred to the other party by the perusal of Lord 
Clarendon. I here discerned very plainly, -why 



107 

the episcopal clergy should have made a Saint and 
a martyr of him. His excessive attachment to 
their order, and the great sacrifices he made to 
them, are undoubtedly very substantial titles to 
(canonization, and the crown of martyrdom ; but 
the zeal and reverence with which a multitude of 
others who are quite indifferent to modes of wor- 
ship, and some who seem desirous there should 
be none at all, still continue to speak of this prince, 
and the indignation and horror with which they 
speak of his opponents, I confess is with me a 
matter of wonder. I know very well, that the 
impressions we receive in our childhood sink deep, 
and that these impressions, whether we receive 
them from our nurses, grandmother, or the par- 
son of the parish : whether they concern ghosts, 
or hobgoblings, a devil, or a saint, a tyrant, or a 
martyr, are with difficulty effaced ; but that those 
who have got rid of those narrow superstitious 
prejudices, should still retain, in their utmost force, 
their prepossessions with respect to their royal 
master is something supernatural. I have long 
endeavoured to account for this, and am apt to 
conclude, that it must be ascribed to the singulari- 
ty of his fate. A king tried and condemned by 
his own subjects is certainly a singular case, the 
singularity of his fate has created pity, and pity 
ever generates love and affection. The Marquis 
of Beccaria, in his incomparable treatise on Crimes 
and Punishments, is of opinion, that a communi- 
ty ought to punish with death such criminals only 
whose existence is absolutely pernicious to the 
community ; if his reasoning is just, a criminal 
king is almost the only criminal on whom death 
ought to be inflicted, as his existence, (if not al- 
ways absolutely destructive,) is undoubtedly high- 
ly' dangerous to society. Tarquin was only ex- 



108 

pellecl ; Tarquin's existence was nearly destruc- 
tive to Rome; an eternal war and conspiracies 
witliinthe walls which brought Rome into the ex- 
tremest peril, were the consequences of the tyrant's 
existence ; and the death of the tyrant simply un- 
less it had been accompanied with that of hit, sons, 
^ivouldnot have injured the tranquillity and secu- 
rity of Rome. 

On this principle, some of the Grecian States 
had laws levelled, not only against the lives of 
those who should erect themselves into the tyrants 
of their country, but enjoining the extirpation of 
their whole race; and these v.?ere wise and humane 
lav/s, because they were necessary for the good of 
the whole, for the sacrifice of a single family for 
the preservation of millions is indisputably huma- 
nity. James the Second was expelled like Tarqu in, 
l.^ut he and his sons were suffered to escape with 
their lives ; the consequences of their being suf- 
fered to escape v/ere three rebellions, which not 
only threatened immediate destruction to these na- 
tions, ])ut endangered the liberties of Europe. It 
is true, these rebellions were defeated in their im- 
mediate purposes, but the existence of the Stuart 
race hath laid, too certainly, I am afraid, the seeds 
of our destruction. *llieir existence has furnished 
the ministers of the family, which was called in for 
our preservation, with pretexts for arming the fa- 
mily of bur preservers., with the means of (de- 
stroying us ; for it is impossible to suppose that 
the nation could have been brought to acquiesce 
in mortgaging the national property, without 
any visible national purposes, unless they had 
imagined that national debts \yere a security 
against the return of the dreaded Stuarts ; and it 
is impossible to suppose that the ])eople could have 
been so far imposed upon, as to suffer their repre- 



109 

scntatives to vote themselves septennial from tri- 
ennial, unless they had been persuaded that a sep- 
tennial parliament formed a stronger barrier against 
the return of the Stuarts than a triennial ; and 
it is still a greater absurdity to suppose, that a 
majority of landed gentlemen, of really well mean- 
ing honest Englishmen, could be infatuated, to so 
great a degree, as to sit down contentedly under the 
establishment of a standing army, the gradual aug- 
mentation of it to an enormous bulk, the inter- 
weaving of it (as may be said) into our constitu- 
tion, had not the spectre of the Stuarts return 
continually danced before their eyes. Hence, I 
think, without straining, it may be inferred, that 
the pecuniary influence of the crown, septennial 
parliaments and a standing army, (which unless 
some great national calamity falls out to draw us 
back to our first principles, before the minds of 
our soldiery are totally debauched,) must inevita- 
bly end in the destruction of our liberties ; and 
perhaps national independence, have been the 
fruits of our mistaken cruel moderation, in suffer- 
ing a single individual of the expelled family to 
remain in existence. But to return from this long 
digression to the question, whether the singulari- 
ty of Charles the First's fate, tried and condem- 
ned by his own subjects is not one of the princi- 
pal causes of his niemorj-'s being treated with 
such tenderness and reverence. We will suppose 
a case : but first admitting Beccaria's position to 
be just, that a com7nunity ought not to punish 
with death any criminal xvhose existence is not ab- 
solutely pernicious., or highly dangerous to the com- 
munity ; and further admitting that a criminal 
king is the only criminal whose existence can he 
pernicious or highly dangerous. We will suppose, 
then, that there should hereafter be formed a com- 



110 

jnunitv, one of whose fundamental laws should 
be, that capital punishments should be confined 
to delinquent kings alone; that all other delin- 
quents, let iheir crimes be what they will, should 
be sent into exile ; their estates, money and goods 
confiscated to the use of the community. I will 
venture to affirm, that an hundred kings, less guil- 
ty than Charles the First, put to death on the 
scaffold, would not shock the humanity of the ten- 
derest nature. 

We will farther suppose, th?it after a series of 
years adherence to this law, they should at length, 
from a concurrence of accidents, on some very 
great emergency, deviate from it, and inflict the 
punishment levelled against royal delinquents 
alone, on delinquents of an inferior order, I will 
venture to affirm that the spectacle, from its no- 
velty, of a Jonathan Wild, a S h, or a * * *, 

dangling on a gallows, would affect the passers-by 
with compassion, and prompt their ingenuity to 
devise apologies for the poor sufferers ; though, 
previously to their execution, the whole world 
had agreed on the transcendency of their flagiti- 
ousness, the incorrigibility of their natures, and 
that no fate could be too severe for their merits. 
But, although the singularity of Charles's destiny, 
the prejudices fostered by the pious care of our 
nurses and the clergy, have greatly contributed to 
the false light in which his conduct, morals, and 
general character are seen, it could not have opera- 
ted so wonderfully alone : the address and sophis- 
try of a succession of our corrupt citizens have 
been set at work, to co-operate in misleading our 
judgment and blinding our understandings ; and 
of this tnbe the pre-eminence must indisputably 
be given to Mr. David Hume; for the pompous 
anility (as I think it may be termed) of Clarendon, 



Ill 

the more than priestly fury of Carte, much less 
the pert patchwork of Sniollet, or the drivellmgof 
poor Goldsmith could not have wroughtany migh- 
ty miracles : but with Hume, the case is different; 
the philosophical, or rather sceptical character of 
the man, antecedent to his appearance as an histo- 
rian, and a speciousness of style render him so in- 
finitely more dangerous than his fellow labourers, 
that it is much to be lamented that some person, 
(for instance, a Lord Littleton,) eminent for parts 
and learning, has not thought it worth his while 
professedhs (but I would have it compendiously, 
for a reason I shall -hereafter give,) to expose to 
public view the incongruities, artifices, and perni- 
cious intention of this sophist. But when I lament 
that no man of a superior stamp has set himself 
the task, I do not mean that extraordinary learning, 
or talents are absolutely necessary : on the contra- 
ry, I think an attentive perusal must qualify every 
man of common sense full as well for the purpose, 
if we could suppose that an equal degree of regard 
would be paid to him ; but it is certain, that the 
name and signature of a person in high repute 
gives to manifest eternal truths, greater force than 
when uttered by a common or unknown writer, al- 
though the essence of truth cannot be altered by 
the greater or lesser reputation of him who utters 
it. 

It is true, a more effectual antidote to the poison 
of Hume's history cannot be desired than Mrs. 
M'Cauley's, if they are but read and compared 
together with their respective authorities ; but the 
misfortune is, the perusal and comparing of two 
so bulky writers cannot be expected from the la- 
ziness of modern readers ; and it is on the no- 
tions and principles of the lazy plass of readers 
that the present welfare of our country and the 



il2' 

fate of posterity, in a great measure, depend. lu 
fact, of Vv^^liat importance would it be to the com- 
munity, if those very few, who have inclination 
and perseverance to work through volumes, should 
enlarge their minds to even the standard of an an- 
cient Roman, when the young nobility, gentry 
and men of property, who compose the lazy class, 
still remain perverted, uncorrected, and uninfor- 
med ? 

For these reasons, I think that some work so 
compendious as not to terrify by its bulk, con- 
fined simply, and bearing the import of such in its 
title, to a refutation of Hume's tenets, and de- 
monstration of his partiality and pernicious prin- 
ciples, would be more beneficial than a full com- 
plete body of history, digested methodically, sup- 
ported by the best authority, and animated by the 
noblest sentiments. But until some eminent per- 
son will be pursuaded to take up the employment^ 
it is the duty of every common citizen to exert 
Avhatever force he has in the common cause. 

A jealous spirit in the people, of those who go- 
vern and the principle of resistance, form the 
palladium of liberty, particularly in a limited 
monarchy. An abhorrence of tyrants, or even of 
those who have a semblance of tyrants, (and it 
will scarcely be disputed that Charles had a semb- 
lance,) is inseparable from this jealous spirit and 
principle of resistance ; whoever would extinguish 
the one, would extinguish the other. When we 
see, therefore, a junto of notorious court-retainers, 
clubbing their labours to reconcile us to the de- 
spotic administration of Charles, to his duplicity, 
to his breach of faith, and violation of the most 
solemn compacts, we may safely conclude, that a 
design is lodged to extinguish the necessary jea- 
lous spirit of liberty and inculcate the principles 



113 

of non-resistance. It may be said, that a too great 
jealousy oF liberty is equally dangerous with a 
two great confidence ; that as the latter may 
plunge us into slavery, the former may into anar- 
chy. I should allow some weight to this objection, 
if, in the whole course of our history, a refutation, 
in a single instance, could be produced of these 
positions ; that the spirit of liberty is slow to act, 
even against the worse princes^ and exerts itself in 
favour of the best with more effect than any other 
spirit whatever. I must therefore repeat, that the 
keeping alive the jealous spirit of liberty is a com- 
mon cause ; that a detestation of tyrants, or even 
of those who lean to tyranny, is inseparable from 
this spirit; that Charles the First was a tyrant 
in principle and in action ; that those who la- 
bour to reconcile us to his conduct and character, 
would destroy the spirit of liberty, and ultimately 
establish the principle of non-resistance ; that 
a junto of mercenaries and court-retainers do la- 
bour to these purposes . That it is, therefore, the 
duty of every common citizen, who has the in- 
terest of his country at heart, to exert continually 
whatever force he has to defeat their purposes ; 
or, at least, v/eaken their influence ; for, in me- 
chanics, the smallest force continually applied 
will overcome the most violent motions commu- 
nicated to bodies. 

From these considerations, I propose to offer 
to the public, hereafter, some cursory remarks 
on Mr. Hume's History of the two first Stuarts : 
if they are well received, I shall continue them 
through the reigns of the two last. If they ha^Cy 
in any degree, the effects which I could wish, I 
shall think myself amply recompensed, the only 
recompence which I can promise myself. I can- 
not hope for any glory from the composition ; the 



114 



little reading which a soldier can snatch up at in- 
tervals will scarcely qualify him to reap laurels in 
the field of literature ; and it will easily be belie- 
ved, that the sentiments which I avow, will not 
procure a place or a pension. 



A BREAKFAST FOR RIVINGTON. 

Mr. H , 

A.S Mr. Rivington has given the public to under- 
stand, that he does not chuse to deal with any 
writers, but those of the most accurate and elegant 
kind, and who have passed through a regular 
course of education ; and as I cannot flatter my- 
self, that I am one of this class, I do not presume 
to offer this little performance to him, though it is 
intended for his vindication ;, but as I understand 
from the same authority, that you admit into your 
paper even the lowest trash, I find myself under 
the necessity of applying to you. Mr, Riving4;on 
has, I know, like other great men, his calumnia- 
tors and enemies ; — envy and malice ever were 
attendant on exalted genius and merit. It is in- 
conceivable, what numbers are endeavouring tode- 
tract from this wonderful personage ; how they 
strain their little wits to throw a ridicule upon his 
talents, his style, his integrity, and even his erudi- 
tion. This last, one should imagine if any thing 
of human attainment can, is unquestionable, as he 
has given such eminent and manifold proofs of it : 
however it does not escape the^tu. I found my- 
self the other night, (for as a studier of men and 
characters I associate with all sorts,) amongst a set 
of the most flaming factious enemies to all order 
and government ; where the most respectable cha- 
racters of the age were treated with scandalous 



115 

freedom. Lord Mansfield was a Jefferies, Lord 
Bute a solemn empty pedantic Jacobite, and Mr. 
Rivingtona ridiculous pragmatical slip-slop cox- 
comb : they said, that he had not decency enough 
for the porter of a bawdy-house, learning enough 
for a barrack washer- woman, nor imagination suf- 
ficient for a christmas-bellman : — ^that at the age 
of fifteen he was turned out of the blue-school, 
where he had been bred, as too incorrigible a dunce 
to make a scavenger of ; that they had, by way of 
jocular experiment, for some time tried him in this 
capacity ; but that he always, in windy days, swept 
the dust up against the wind. By persisting in 
this practice he was very near losing his eyes, and 
that you may observe they ai'e still extremely 
weak from its eftects. At this. Sir, I own my 
biood boiled. I said, they must be driven to great 
straits indeed, if they could object nothing worse 
to a gentleman's character than his having been 
bred at a charity school ; for that it had been the 
case of some of the most illustrious men tl^ na- 
tion had produced ; the late Lord Hardwicke, 
and Mr. Prior, had been educated in the same 
manner. As to the story of the weakness of his 
eyes, proceeding from sweeping the dust against 
the wind, I knew it to be a falsehood ; for that it 
had been contracted, to my knowledge, by poring 
into a Johnson's dictionary of his own printing, 
late at nights, to find out decent poUysylables, of 
sufficient sound and dignity, to dress up an ad- 
vertisement of Scotch herrings, lumber and pick- 
led oysters. 

I asserted, that his compositions were incom- 
prehensibly fine, his language sonorous and musi- 
cal; although, perhaps, he did not always apply 
words to their legitimate meaning ; as who does in 
suchan immensity of business; and that he should 



round a period with any bookseller in Christen- 
dom : That he was a Latin scholar, I thought must 
be allowed by all unprej udiced men, when they con- 
sidered his numberless and apt quotations from Ho- 
race. Upon my mentioning his knowledge of 
Latin the whole company burst out into a horse- 
laugh, which I thought was very indecent, and 
when the uproar subsided, demanded the expla- 
nation. They insisted upon it, that he was so 
totally ignorant of it, that he did not know the 
meaning, nor could he conjugate the verbs mentior^ 
nor vapidoy though he so generally practised the 
former and had so often experienced the latter : — 
that his patches of Horace were always furnished 
by his friend the Doctor — that when he had finish- 
ed one of his pieces, he always applied to the Doc- 
tor for a motto to dignify his performance ; that, 
for instance, the four lines from Horace, prefixed 
to his late Epistle to Mr. Sears, (which I really 
think one of the smartest things I ever read,) were 
pointed out by the Doctor ; and that a blunder 
whimsical enough had happened on this occasion, 
though it was fortunately rectified in time for the 
press. They related, that when he went as usual 
for his motto to the Doctor, the Doctor wrote him 
down these lines : 

While you alone sustain the weighty cares 
Of ull the worJd, and manage peace and wars ; 
The Roman State by virtue's rules amend, 
Adorn with manners, and with arms defend ; 
To write a long discourse, and waste your tin:e. 
Against the public good, wou'd be a crime. 

saying " Rivington, you may transcribe the Latin 
at your leisure, as you have Horace in your shop ; 
remember, it is the first epistle." Rivington went 
home vastly happy, l^ut unluckily mistook the first 
satire for the first epistle. When the Doctor went 
to revise it the next morning, he found these line? 



117 

very fairly written-— Qui jit Macenas utnenioquam, 
&c. and under, the above translation. They ad- 
ded, that though the Doctor was that morning in 
an horrible ill humour, (as he had just been rea- 
ding the Bishop of St. Asaph's speech,) he could 
not refrain from laughing : but, however, after 
leaving bestowed some anathemas on the skull of 
his friend, he, for the honour of the common 
cause, took the pains to transcribe the lines with 
his own hand, to prevent any further blunders. 
They then proceeded to fall foul upon his En- 
glish ; they said that when he first set up his 
press, aivl before he was under the correction of 
the Doctor, he used always to write musketeers, 
musk-cat-eeq-s — dragoons, dragons — battalions, 
battle-lions; and that he really thought these 
strange things were made use of in war ; that all 
the words ending in Hon, as Jiagellation, castiga- 
tion, salivation, words he is best acquainted with, 
he spelt with an sh. I hate the story they told of 
him, which, although I was cursedly enraged, I 
confess made me smile ; that writing to his niece 
who was going to be married to an eminent pawn- 
broker in St. Martin's Lane, he began his letter 
thus : " My dear Kitty, as you are going to be 
married, and are so very young a girl, I would 
advise you, by all means, at least, £t first, to act 
with a little cushion,'''' meaning it for caution. Now 
I would appeal to all mankind, who are not to- 
tally blinded by party and faction, whether it is 
credible, whether it is possible, that a gentleman, 
who has from his cradle, been in some sort a re- 
tainer of the Muses, should be guilty of such 
gross, such ridiculous blunders. When I say 
Mr. Rivington has been a retainer of the Muses, 
I do not mean. Sir, in your paltry sphere, a mere 
dealer in indexes and title pages. No Sir, his 



118 

sphere has been more enlarged. It is notorious 
that when he had finished his studies, he was invi- 
ted into a society of eminent itinerary comedians ; 
I know very well, that his enemies give out, that 
he only amputated the luminaries betwixt the 
acts ; but I could bring authentic proofs of hh 
distinguishing himself m some important charac- 
ters. 



i.:i. 



February 3, 17; 

A PAMPHLET,* EXTTTLED, " A FRIENDLY APDRESS 
"TO ALL REASONABLE AMERICANS ON TTlE SL'B- 
" JECT OF OXTR POLITICAL CONFUSIONS/' GAVE 
BIRTH TO THE FOLLOWING PERFORMAN'CE, AD- 
DRESSED TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA 

" LePs canvass him in his broad cardinaPs halP &'lialcespear. 

TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA. 

A PAMPHLET, m<\\t^ A friendly Address to 
all reasonable Americans, advertised and sold 
by Mr. James Rivington of New-York, is of so 
extraordinary a nature, that it is difficult for any 
man who is interested in the welfare of the com- 
munity (whatever contempt he may have for the 
performance) to remain silent. I know not whe- 
ther the author is a layman or ecclesiastic, but he 
bears stronglv the characters of the latter : he has 
the want 6f candour and truth, the apparent spirit 
of persecution, the unforgiveness,the deadly hatred 
to dissenters, and the zeal for arbitrary j&oTifc/* which 
has distinguished churchmen in all ages, and more 
particularly the high part of the Church of Eng- 
land. I cannot help, therefore, considering him 
as one of this order. 

The design of his reverence's pamphlet, is ma- 
nifestly to dissolve the spirit of union, and check 

* It is said to have been written by the Reverend Dr. Miles Coo- 
per, president of King's College, at New- York, 



119 

the noble ardour, prevailing through the conti- 
nent ; but his zeal so far outruns his abilites, that 
there is the greatest reason to think that he has 
laboured to little effect. His discretion seems to be 
still less than his genius; a man of common judg- 
ment would not so wantonly have attacked the ge- 
neral reigning principle and opinions of the peo- 
ple, whom he intends to intimidate or seduce out 
of their rights and privileges. For instance, I 
believe there are at least ninety-nine Americans in 
a hundred, who think that Chai'les the First was an 
execrable tyrant ; that he met with no harder fate 
than he deserved ; find that his two sons ought, in 
justice, to have made the same exit. 

To descant, therefore, on the criminality of the 
resistence made to that tyrant ; to affect on every 
occasion, giving the title of rebellion to the civil 
war which brought him to justice, is a degree of 
weakness which no man, who is not blinded by 
the dasmon of Jacobitism could possibly be guilty 
of. But to preach up in this enlightened age, as 
he does, in almost express terms, passive obedi- 
ence, is a mark of lunacy, or at least it proves that 
the moment a head begins to itch for a mitre, it lo- 
ses the faculty of reasoning ; for if the principle of 
passive obedience is admitted, the gracious prince, 
for whom his reverence professes so great a de- 
votion, is a downright usurper, and the parliament, 
of which he speaks so respecfully, Lords and 
Commons, are rebels and traitors. 

The doctrines he aims to inculcate are as fol- 
low : " That the parliament has a ri§*ht to tax you 
" without your consent ; that the duty upon tea is 
*' no tax; that this duty is your only grievance; that 
" the cause of Boston is their own concern ; that 
"it is not your cause; that the pijnishment of 
" Boston is a just punishment; that \t is lenient ; 



120 

" that it is not equal to their crimes; that the BoS- 
" tonians are rebels, traitors, and pampered fana- 
*' tics; that the Congress are little better; that no 
" misconduct of administration can justify or ex- 
*' cuse open disrespect ; that submission is to be 
" paid to the higher powers, whatever character 
'* they be ; that an apostle enjoined submission to 
" the tyrant Nero ; that, of all people under hea- 
" ven, the kings American subjects have the least 
" cause for complaint ; that the present confusion 
*' of the Colonies has been occasioned by false 
" alarms ; that none of your legal rights have been 
*' invaded ; no injury has been done you ; and, 
" consequently, that you can never be justified in 
*' resenting that of which you have no reason to 
*' complain ; that you are no judges of the rights 
" of Parliament ; that the Parliament ought to 
" act according to their own judgment, not accor- 
"ding to yours, even in things which concern 
" you principally or solely ; that they assert they 
" have the right in question ; that you have never 
" proved they have not ; that you have always be- 
*' lieved or allowed they have, until the present 
" occasion ; that the Quebec Bill is a just and 
" constitutional bill ; that the Canadians are likely 
" to prove the best and most loyal subjects in his 
" Majesty's American dominions ; that there is 
" too much reason to believe, that the minds of 
" the Americans are unprincipled, and their hearts 
*' disposed for rebellion ; that since the reduction 
" of Canada, they have been bloated with a vain 
" opinion of their own power and importance ; 
*' that the island of Great Britain is able to govern, 
" (that is to dragoon,) ten Americans ; that the 
" moment it is kncvn that America is no longer 
*' under the protection of Great Britian, all the 
" maritime powers of Europe would join to ra- 



121 

** vage your sea-ports, plunder and seize your 
" ships, merely for the pleasure of ravaging ;* 
'* that all the maritime powers of the world would 
*' not dispossess Great Britain of the empire of 
"the sea, even when America is separated from 
'* her." Now I challenge the world to produce 
so many wicked sentiments, stupid principles, au- 
daciously false assertions, and monstrous absur- 
dities, crouded together into so small a compass. 
All his positions, indeed, are so self-evidently ab- 
surd and false, that it would be an insult to Ameri- 
can understanding, seriously to attempt refuting 
them. I shall only beg leave to take notice of the 
curious argument he uses to prove the duty on tea 
to be no tax, it is, that unless we consent to the tax, 
we are not to pay the duty ; we may refuse pur-- 
chasing it if we please. The same logic would 
demonstrate that a duty on beer, candles, or soap 
would be no tax : as we are not absolutely obli- 
ged to drink beer, we may drink water i we may 
go to bed before it is dark, and we are not forced 
to wash our shirts. His assertion that Great Bri- 
tain, when divorced from her colonies, will still 
hold the empire of the seas, in spite of all the 

•This is perliaps the most preposterous idea tluit ever was hatch- 
ed in a distempered brain. America (more particularly since the 
distractions in a "oland have taken jjlact) has been the great grana- 
rv, or c'lla penaria of Europe. Is it possible to conceive, that tiie 
different maritime powers should unite to deprive themselves of the 
chief means of subsistence, merely for tlie fun's sake! Is it not 
more natural to suppose, that they would outbid each other for 
your friendship and c;)mmcrce, on wiiich so much depends ? When 
the Low Countries withdrew tliemselves from the dominion of 
Spain, did England, France, and tlie other powers, immediately set 
about ravaging their sea-ports and seizing their shipsJ Did they 
not, on the contrary, exert themselves, directly and indirectly, to 
assist them! The case is similar ; tlie event would be similar, and 
that Great Britain would not be powerful enough at sea, when sepa- 
rated from her Colonies, to prevent this assistance, I shall refer my 
readers to Masiie's Estimates, the authority of which has never been 
disputed, and wliich demonstrate that more than half the naval povf' 
er of Great Britain stand* or her American foundation. 



i:2s2 

•powers of the world, is still more ingenious. It 
amounts to this, ihatwithout the possible means of * 
procuring timber^ iron, plank ^ masts^ pitch, tar, or 
hemp, to furnish out a single frigate, they may 
build more sh^ps than all the zv or Id put together ; 
that when her nursery for seameji is destroyed, and 
all the commerce on which the existence of seamen 
depends is annihilated, they will then be able to 
man more fleets than the whole universe put to- 
gether. But I am ashamed of trespassing on the 
public patience, in making strictures on such ridi- 
culous articles, I shall therefore pass to some ques- 
tions which have not been so much agitated, and 
on which, if I mistake not,his Reverence lays the 
greatest stress ; for, as he modestly declares, that 
he has no opinion of your courage, it was natural 
for him to consider intimidation and terror, as the 
most powerful figures of rhetoric. Regular ar- 
mies from Great Britain, Hessians, Hanoverians., 
royal standards erected, skilful generals, legions of 
Canadians, and unnumbered tribes of savages, 
swords faming in the front and rear, pestilence, 
desolation, and famine, are all marshalled in a most 
dreadful order by this church militant author. But 
let us somewhat minutely examine the picture, and 
see whether, stripped of its false colouring, it has 
any thing really terrifying. His Reverence begins 
with assuring us, that there is no room to doubt 
but that such an army as was employed in the re- 
duction of Canada (that is, an army of 7000 men) 
would be more than sufficient for the conquest of 
all the disaffected American colonies, which are, in 
fact, all the colonies, should such a resolution be- 
come necessary in order to reduce them to obedi- 
ence. For my own part, I think there is very great 
reason to doubt that 7000, even of the best troops, 
are able to conquer 200,000, of the most disor- 



123 

derly peasantry upon earth, if they are animated 
in defence of every thing they hold most dear and 
sacred ; and there is still greater reason to doubt 
that 7000 very indifferent troops, composed of the 
refuse of an exhausted nation, few of whom have 
seen action of any kind, should be able to concjuer 
200,000 active vigorous yeomanry, fired with the 
noble ardour we see prevalent through the conti- 
nent, all armed, all expert in the u-ic of arms, al- 
most from their cradles. The success of Quebec, 
it is true, does infinite honour to the English arms'; 
the army was, I believe, only 7000 ; the enemy 
were perhaps more thati double, but 16,000 men 
are not 200,000. The fate of Canada depended 
upon one decisive action, but it is impossible to 
calculate how many victories must be gained be- 
fore these Colonies could be subdued ; whereas 
a single victory gained by the Colonies must de* 
cide the contest in their favour. In the afflur of 
Quebec, there is another circumstance to be con- 
sidered ; it was Wolfe who commanded, a man of 
the most wonderful talents, formed to level all dif- 
ficulties, to render the most despicable soldiery al- 
most instantaneously an army of heroes. In short, 
the genius of the man was so extraordinary, ihe 
event was so extraordinar}^ that no inferences can 
be drawn from it ; but this, without presumption, 
may be asserted, that no general, now existing in 
the British service, would, with double or treble 
his number, have succeeded in the same circum- 
stances. 

One thing more I must add in honour of that 
illustrious personage, that the same greatness of 
soul which qualified him to conquer the natural 
hereditary enemies of this country, would have 
made him reject Vv'ith horror the hangman's office ; 
which. others, who arenot endowed with conquer- 
ing attributes, will, with readiness, accept. 



124. 

It is notorioils, that Mr. Wolfe was not only 
the first of soldiers, but that he was a most liberal 
virtuous citizen ; that he was passionately attach- 
ed to the liberties of his country, and of mankind; 
and that he was particularly an enemy to large 
standing armies, in time of peace. It is, on the 
other hand, remarkable, that all the advocates for 
standing armies, all those who are the fondest of 
the faddiing and parade of war, are the most active 
in avoiding real service. 

Tliis tremendous soothsayer, on the supposition, 
that so great a miracle should happen in our favour, 
as that the trifling body of 500,000 men, though 
firmly united (for every man in America, firmly 
united, would not amount to less) should be able 
to withstand his 7000, goes on to ratde in our ears 
armies of Hcbsians and Hanoverians. I wish to 
Heaven he had for once deviated into probability 
and trudi. I wish 10,000 of them could possibly 
be transported to-morrow. The purpose they 
would answer, is a purpose devoutly to be wished 
for, they would be an addition to this continent of 
just so many useful and excellent citizens ; for I 
will venture to aflirm, affirming is infectious, that 
in less than four, months not two of these 10,000 
would remain with their colours. But does not 
this reverend gentleman know, that in the year 
1764, a convention was formed by most of the 
princes of the empire, at the head of which con- 
vention were the emperor himself and the king 
of Prussia, to prevent the alarming emigrations 
which threatened depopulation to Germany? 
Does he not know that no troops can march out 
of the Empire without the consent of the Empe- 
ror ? Does he not know that the Elector of Hano- 
ver and the Emperor are upon exceeding ill 
terms ? Does he not know that the Elector of 



125 

Hanover and the Kini^ of Prussia are still upon 
worse ? Is he sure that the Landgnive of Hesse 
would sell his troops ? For, as not one man would 
return back to their country, he must consider 
them as lor ever sold. Is he sure that, as the finan- 
ces of Great Britain stand, the vast sum necessary 
for this purchase would be conveniently found ? 
Is he sure that the state of Hanover would consent 
to such a draining of their ccamtry ? I know not 
how it is ; but his most excellent Majesty George 
tlie Third, who in England is justly esteemed the 
most gracious of sovereigns, the wisest, greatest, 
and best of kings, is not very popular in the Elec- 
torate of Hanover. These people seem to think it 
hard, that 270,0001. should annually bedrawnfrom 
them, for the purposes, as they conceive it, of cor- 
rupting the members of St. Stephen's Chapel, in 
order to support the power and authority of a set 
of men, whc, from the beginning, have been ene- 
mies to the succession of the Hanover line, and who 
shewed a particular animosity to their last and fav- 
orite pHnee George the second. But these difficul 
ties, (great and unsurmountable as to a common 
mortal they appear,) our divine exorcist has, in an 
instant, conjured down ; and by a single motion of 
bis enchanted wand, has transported whole armies 
in spite of their respective princes, and \vithout the 
consent of their respective states, from the interior 
parts of Germany, across the Atlantic into the 
plains of New England and Pennsylvania ; but he 
does not confine himself to the introduction of his 
Germans. He proceeds next to erect the royal 
standard, to which he tells us, that all who have 
the courage to declare themselves now friends to 
government, will undoubtedly resort ; and these, 
he says, in a good cause, will be of themselves 
formidable to their opposers. Dreadfully form.!- 

t 2 



126 

dable they must be indeed ! There would resort to 
it ; let me see, for the respectable town of Rye, 
have declared themselves a kind of neutrals, ra- 
ther than friends to government ; there would re- 
sort to it, Mr. Justice Sewell, the honourable Mr. 
Paxton, Brigadier Kuggles, and about eight or 
ten more mandamus council-men, with perhaps 
twice their number of expectants, and not less 
than twenty of the unrecanted Hutchinsonian ad- 
dressers : these the four provinces of New Eng- 
land alone would send forth. New York would 
furnish six, seven, or probably eight volunteers, 
from a certain knot, who are in possession or ex- 
])ectation of contracts, and the fourth part of a 
dozen of high-flying Church of England Roma- 
nised priests. I represent to myself the formida- 
ble countenance they will make, when arranged 
under the royal or ministerial standard ; but what 
will add to the terror of the appearance will be 
their Reverend Pontifex himself, whom I conceive 
marching in the front, an inquisitorial frown upon 
his brow, his bands and canonicals floating to the 
air, bearing a cross in his hands, with the tremen- 
dous motto, in hocsigno vinces, flaming upon it in 
capital letters of blood, leading them on and exci- 
ting them to victory. It is impossible that men, 
who are not under an infatuation by the judgment 
of Heaven, should flatter themselves, that forty 
thousand American yeomanry ; for we are assu- 
red by the same great authority, that more than 
forty thousand cannot be brought to action, should 
stand the shock of this di'eadful phalanx. 

But I should beg pardon for attempting to be 
ludicrous, upon a subject which demands our 
utmost indignation. I shall now, therefore, on 
the presumption that the people of England should 
he so lost to sense, virtuCj and spirit, as to sufier 



127 

tbeii" profligate mis-niJers to persevere in their 
present measures, endeavour to stat€ to you what 
is their force, and what is yours. I shaHcndeavour 
to remove the false terrors wliich this writer would 
hold out in order to intimidate you from the de- 
fence of your liberties and those of posterity, that 
he and his similars may wallow in sinecures and 
benefices heaped up from the fruits of your labour 
and industry. Great Britain has, I believe, of 
infantry athorTie, comprehending Ireland, and ex- 
clusive of the guards, fifteen thousand men. They 
find the greatest difficulty in keeping the regiments 
up to any thing near their establishment : what 
they are able to procure are of the worst sort. 
They are composed of the most debauched weavers, 
apprentices, the scum of the Irish Roman Catho- 
lics, who desert upon every occasion, and a few 
Scotch, who are not strong enough to carry packs. 
This is no exaggeration : those who have been 
lately at Boston, represent the soldiers there (one or 
two regiments excepted) as very defective in siae, 
and apparently in strength. But we shall be told 
they are still regulars, and regulars have an irre- 
sistible advantage. There is, perhaps, more im- 
position in the term regular troops, than in any 
of the jargon which issues from the mouth of a 
quack doctor. I do not mean to insinuate, that a 
disorderly mob are equal to a trained disciplined 
body of men; but I mean, that all the essentials, 
necessary to form infantry for real service, may be 
acquired in a few months*. I mean, that it is 

* There cannot be a stronger illustration of the truth here advan- 
ced, ihiin the Prussian army. They are composed of about one- 
third of the King's subjects, two-thirds foreigners. The third con- 
sisting of his own subjects are, when the exercising season is over, 
which lasts six or seven weeks, suffered to return to their families, 
and attend to the business of husb;indry. Half of the other two- 
thirds, consisting of foreigners, are not only permitted, but encour- 
aged to work at their trades in the garrison towns, and never touch 
SI mtisket for the resi of the year. So that, in fact, only one-third 



128 

very possible for men to be clothed in red, to be 
expert in all the tricks of the parade, to call them- 
selves regular troops, and yet, by attaching them- 
selves prit^cipally or solely to the tinsel and sliow ot" 
war, be totally unfit for real service. This, I am 
told, is a ^ood deal the case of the present British 
infantry. If they can acquit themselves tolerably 
in the puerile reviews, exhibited for the amuse- 
ment of royal masters and misses in Hyde Park, or 
Wimbledon Common, it is sufficient. 

In the beginning of the late war, some of the 
most esteemed regular regiments were sent over to 
this country ; they were well dressed, they were 
well powdered, they were perfect masters of their 
manual exercise, they fired together in platoons ; 
but fatal experience taught us, that they knevv not 
how to fight. While your militia were frequently 
crowned vviih success, these regulars were defeated 
or bafRed for three years successively, in every part 
of the Continent. At length, indeed, after re- 
peated losses and disgraces, they became excellent 
troops, but not until they had absolutely forgotten 
every thing which, we are assured, must render re- 
gulars quite irresistable. The corps; sent from this 
country under General Monkton, was, I believe, 
for its number, one of the best armies that ever 
was led to conquest ; and yet, if I have been rightly 
informed, there was not a single regiment of them 
that could go through the manual exercise, or, at 
best they performed it most wretchedly. It is 
likewise said, that when, after their glorious and 
rapid conquest of Martinico, they were joined by 
the spruce regiments from Europe, such was their 
uncooth appearance, that they were scarce honour- 
are, in the modern languag'c to be called reg-ular soldiers : these 
generally make their escape the first opporlvmity. It may be said, 
therefore, that the King of Prusia has gained all his victories with 
a sort of militia. 



129 

ed with the title of soldiers by those gentlemen. 
Upon the whole, it is most certain that men may 
be smartly dressed, keep their arms bright, be call- 
ed regulars, be expert in all the anticks of a re- 
view and yet be very mifit for real action. It is 
equally certain, that a militia, by confining them- 
selves to essentials, by a simplification of the ne- 
cessary manoeuvres, may become, in a very few 
months, a most formidable infantry. The yeoman- 
ry of America have, besides, infinite advantages 
over the peasantry of other countries ; they are ac- 
customed from their infancy to fire arms ; they are 
expert in the use of them : whereas the lower and 
middle people of England, are, by the tyranny of 
certain laws, almost as ignorant in the use of a mus- 
ket, as they are of the ancient catapulta. The Ame- 
cans are likewise, to a man, skilful in the man- 
agement of the instruments necessary for all mi- 
litary works ; such as spades, pick- axes, hatchets, 
&c. Taking, therefore, all circumstances into con- 
sideration, there will be no rashness in affirm- 
ing, that this continent may have formed for ac- 
tion, in three or four months, one hundred thou- 
sand infantry ; for as to the assertion of one friend- 
ly adviser, that nojnore than forty thousand could act 
to advantage^ I confess I do not understand it, nor 
does he, 1 believe, understand it himself. If he 
means that sixty thousand men cannot be ranged 
in a field, capable of containing only forty thou- 
sand, we shall all agree with him ; but how, in 
the operation of a war, upon a vast continent, 
double this number should be a disadvantage, I 
can have no conception. 

Let one simple general plan be adopted for the 
formation and subdivision of your battallions ; 
let them be instructed only in so much of the 
manual exercise as to prevent confusion, and ac- 



130 

cidents in loading and firing ; let them be taught 
to form, to retreat, to ..dvance, to change their 
front, to rally by their colours; let them be taught 
to reduce themselves from a line of fire to a line 
of impression, that is, from two deep to four, six, 
or eight. This is all so easy and simple, that it 
may be acquired in three months. Let some plan 
of this sort be adopted, I say, and there is no 
doubt but that, in the time I have ascribed, you 
may have an army on foot of seventy, eighty, or 
an hundred thousand men, equal to all the services 
of war. 

Should this be admitted, it will be still objected 
that you have no able officers to conduct you. I 
do not know that you have, but is it certain that 
those sent to dragoon you have better ? I have 
taken some pains to inform myself what methods 
these gentlemen, said to be bred to arms, take to 
qualify themselves in a superior degree for the pro- 
fession. What is their rotine of instruction ? Do 
they read much ? I am assured that they do not. 
From books alone the theory of war can be ac- 
quired, and the English service in time of peace, 
afibrds them no practical lessons ! for mounting 
guard once or twice a week, or the preparation for 
the review of a single regiment, can never be es- 
teemed as such.^J^ 

* It is much to be lamented that tlie {gentlemen of the army do 
not apply more of the many leisure hours they have upon their hands 
to reading. The majorily of them arc of a generous disposition 
which did they cultivate, by conversing with the great Jiistorians 
and orators of antiquity, and the more liberal political writers of 
our own country, a standing army would be sometliing less an ob- 
ject of jealousy to all virtuous citizens. We might perhaps see 
them, instead of being advocates and partizans of the present min- 
istry, a check upon their wickedness. I am inclined to think that 
few, or none of the officers have condescended to infta-m themselves 
of the merit of the present contest. Let me conjure them, for 
once, to read cooly and candidly the whole process ; afterwards to 
lay their hands upon their hearts, and answer, whether the people 
of America in general, and of Boston in particular, are moro sinnei 
against, or sinning ? 



131 

Another circumstance, Americans, may be ad- 
ded for your comfort; it has been allowed by 
some of the most candid of the regulars them- 
selves, that during the last war upon this conti- 
nent, your countrymen, the provincial field offi- 
cers, were in general more understanding and ca- 
pable than their own of the same rank. But the 
history of the civil war in the year 1641, furnishes 
us with the strongest instances that excellent offi- 
cers may be soon formed from country gentlemen, 
citizens, lawyers, and farmers. The parliament's 
army, or, as our priestly writer would call them, 
the rebellious republicans, were chicfiy composed 
of this class of men. In the beginning of this 
war, they were treated with the same aflected con- 
tempt, and almost in the same opprobrious terms 
as you, the people of America, are by your friend- 
ly and decent adviser. 

Whoever would infer from the tenor of these 
papers, that the writer is desirous of precipitating, 
or could look with indifference upon the calamities 
of a civil war, does him great injustice. He con- 
siders them Vv'ith all the horror natural to a feel- 
ing man and honest citizen. He execrates the me- 
mory of those men, to whom they may be justly 
attributed ; but he is persuaded that they never ori- 
ginated, at least in states of any considerable ex- 
tent, in the turbulent dispositions of the people, 
nor in the arts of demagogues, but in the oppres- 
sion of their rulers, in the wantonness, folly, pride, 
or avarice of kings, ministers, or governors. The 

Now I am upon the subject of the officers of the airny, I take 
tlie opportunity of mentioning-, with the respect due to him, one 
gentleman of high rank amonjj them. His general conduct while 
in command was so liberal, and his letters quoted in the House of 
Commons, were so fiiir, candid, and friendly to the Continent that 
he is entitled to the thanks of America. He is indeed of a country 
that owes not only its prospei-ity, but its existence, to the same 
principles, which actuate America. 



132 

Grislers of Switzerland, the Granvels of Holland, 
the Lauds and StrafFords of England, were the 
undoubted authors of the tragedies, acted in their 
respective countries ; and if this continent should 
be stained with the blood of a single citizen, it 
can never be charged to the unreasonable preten- 
sions of the people, but to the Barnards, Hutchin- 
sons, and some other traitors of a similar stamp. 

He is convinced, that being prepared for a civil 
war is the surest means of preventing it ; that to 
keep the swords of your enemies in their scab- 
bards, you must whet your own. He is convinced, 
that remonstrances, petitions, prayers, and suppli- 
cations, will make no impressions on our callous 
court, and abandoned parliament. England, Ire- 
land, America, even Guernsey, Jersey and Minorca, 
are witnesses of their inefficacy. He is convinced, 
that fear alone can operate ; there are symptoms 
that it already begins to operate. The monster 
tyranny already begins to pant ; press her now 
with ardour, and she is down. Already the mi- 
nistry have expressed in their letter an inclination 
to make some concessions, to meet you half- way, 
which, I suppose, may be construed thus, *' that as 
they find they have it not in their power to estab- 
lish, by force, the despotism which they aimed at, 
they shall be very well satisfied if you will just 
cede so much of your rights and privileges as will 
enable them, by extending their pecuniary influ- 
ence, and sapping your virtue, to take away the 
rest at their leisure." 

There now remains, peopk of America, one 
consideration, which, however it may be taken, I 
think it my duty to offer. History tells us, that 
the free states of Greece, Thebes, Sparta, A.thens, 
and Syracuse, were all, in their tu;ns, subjugated 
In' the force or art of tyrants. They almost all. 



13S 

in their turns, recovered their liberty and destroy- 
ed their tyrants. The first act, upon the recovery 
of their liberty, was to demolish those badges of 
slavery, citadels, strong-hoids, and military tene- 
ments ; the Switzcrs did the same ; the people 
of England, lost in corruption and lethargy as 
they are, could never be prevailed upon to suffer 
barracks amongst them ; even the courtly Black- 
stone is startled at the idea. No separate camps, 
no barracks, no inland fortresses, says he, should 
be allowed ; in fact, wherever barracks are, free- 
dom cannot be said to exist, or she exists so lame- 
ly, as scarcely to deserve the name. 

It is worth your consideration, Americans, whe- 
ther these badges should remain or no. I shall 
now conclude, brave citizens, with invoking the 
Almighty Go^, from whom all virtues flow, to 
continue you in that spirit of uminimity and vigor 
which must ensure you success, and immortalize 
you through all ages, as the champions and pat- 
rons of the human race. 



TO THE GENTLEMEN OF THE PROVINCIAL CON- 
GRESS OF VIRGINIA. 

JL HE addresses presented to their lieutenant go- 
vernor by the Council, and eleven polluted mem- 
bers of the Assembly of New-York, are, to eve- 
ry sensible thinking American, of infinitely a more 
alarming nature, than the threats of the minister, 
the bi'utum fulmen of the king's speech, (if that 
can properly be termed the king's speech,) which 
the minister has publicly avowed to be his own 
composition,* or the echoing back this speech by 

* The affected friends to Government often coraplain, that his 
Majesty is not treated with the respect due to his character and sta- 
tion ; but it appears to mc, that a minister's declaring in an open 
senate, that the speech from the throne is not tlie king's, but his 

M 



134 

a hireling majority of the peers to their pay-mas- 
ter ; for as long as a spirit of union subsists through 
this continent ; and as long as the people at home 
have reason to think that this spirit does subsist ; 
these threats of the minister, although vibrated 
from the sounding-board of the throne, and the 
echoing it back by a hired chorus of peers, must 
cast more ridicule upon those by whom they are 
uttered than give terror to those at whom they are 
leveUed, But the suspicion or report of any de- 
fection amongst ourselves, is a matter of most se- 
rious concern ; it behoves you, therefore, gentle- 
men, it behoves every Provincial Congress of the 
continent, to consider immediately of some effec- 
tual means to prevent the mischievous consequen- 
ces, intended by these abandoned and senseless 
men. Have we then formed a general associa- 
Eion of our provinces? Have we pledged ourselves 
to each other, to our posterity, to mankind? Have 
we made so great, temporary at least, sacrifices 
in the glorious cause of liberty ? Have we con- 
founded our enemies by a strain of virtue, scarce- 
ly credible in these modern ages, and with a spirit 
of harmony that has surpassed the most sanguine 
expectation ? Have we acted this noble part ? 
And shall the council, and eleven contemptible 
Assembly-men of New- York, attempt to render 
all we have done abortive? Contemptible in all 
respects, in numbers, in understanding, in know- 
ledge, and in principles ! For what other tenden- 
cy can their addresses to their lieutenant governor 
possibly have, but to counteract the resolves of 
the Congress, and render every thing you have 
done, abortive ? These compositions of pusil- 
lanimity, abject servility, and disgusting folly, 

own, is going beyond disrespect : It is a most outrageous insult ; it 
is representing his Majesty as a mere puppet, that squatks just M 
tht prompter breathes. 



amount simply to this : That the utmost exertion 
of this united continent.^ consisting of half a mil- 
lion of fighting men^ can have 710 ejfect ; that all 
the resistance^ civil or military ^ which they can 
make^ must be in vain ; but that redress alo7ie 
must be sought, and can be expected from the 
magnanimity of the British 7tation., a7idthe k7iow7i 
good7iess a7id virtue of the Ki7ig. Gracious Hea- 
ven ! grant us patience to be told, that we are to 
expect any thing frcm the magnanimity of a pe- 
ple who, for twelve years successively, have suf- 
fered themselves to be insulted, disgraced, tram- 
pled upon, plundered and butchered with impuni- 
ty! Or to be told, diat we are to look up to the 
goodness and virtue of akiuf^, who for the same 
number of years has been influenced to make in- 
cessant war upon the property, rights, privileges, 
laws, honour, and integrity of his people,, in every 
part of the Empire, is enough to drive moderation 
itself into Violence. 

But, continue these admirable senators, what 
opens still a surer prospect of redress is, that his 
excellency governor Try on is ?iow near the throne ; 
so it seems, that what the petitions, supplications, 
remonstrances of the whole colonies, of the city 
of London, of the great commercial towns, of the 
leading counties of England, what the voice of 
policy, reason, justice, and humanity, could not af- 
fect, Colonel Tryon's being in England will ac- 
complish. 

I know not whether this Colonel Tryon is a 
man of so extraordinary talents, eloquence, and 
influence, as to work these mighty miracles : I 
never understood that he was ; but I am sure, if 
he has common sense, and any manly feelings, he 
cannot help being somewhat disgusted, at this ill- 
timed impertinent flattery ; and that he must con- 



136 

ceive the greatest contempt for the parasites who, 
regardless of the most important concerns of their 
country and humanity, and at the very crisis which 
is to determine whether themselves and their poste- 
rity are to be freemen or slaves, could step out of 
their way to offer up incense to an unimportant 
individual. It may be said, this is all declamation; 
it may be so, but it is a declamation which 
an honest zeal in the public cause has forced 
me into. It is now time, gentlemen, to devise 
some means of putting a stop to this cancer be- 
fore it spreads to any dangerous degree. You, 
gentlemen, of Virginia, and your neighbours of 
Maryland, have perhaps these means in yourhands. 
I would propose then, that after a spirited mani- 
festo expressing your abhorrence of the council*, 
and prostitute eleven of New- York, you should 
proceed to punish the individuals of this wicked 
junto who are in your power. Some of them 
have great contracts for wheat, and corn in these 
provinces, from Norfolk, Alexandria, Chester, 
Baltimore, and other parts. They export prodi- 
gious quantities, and enrich themselves conside- 
rably by this commerce. I would propose, that all 
commerce with these assassins should be laidimme- 
dlately under an interdict ; that not a single ship 
belonging to a counsellor of New- York, unless he 
purges himself by oath from having consented to 
the address, or of one of the prostitute eleven, 
should be furnished with a freight within the capes 
Henry or Charles; and I have that opinion of 
tlie virtue of these provinces, to think your in- 
junctions would be efficacious. But here I must 

* I cannot persuade myself that the council were unanimous in 
this infamous address ; there are individuals amongst them of known 
probity, sense, and patriotism. But tliese gentlemen, so far from 
objecting to the obligation of purging themselves by oath of having 
any share of the guilt, will rejoice in, the opportunity of acquitting 
themselves. 



157 

beg leave to pause for an instant, and ask pardon 
of the public for my apparent presumption. An 
individual who offers his thoughts to so respectable 
a body, as a congress, delegated by the voice of 
a whole people, has certainly the air of presump- 
tion. It is in some measure attributing to himself 
superior lights and abilities; but, on the other 
hand, it is allowed, that an individual has fre- 
quently been fortunate enough to chalk out lines 
in which the most sagacious and respectable bodies 
have not disdained to walk. If his proposals, or 
hints, be weak and absurd, they will naturally be 
laughed at; but if his intentions be honest, the 
consciousness of having acted from motives of rec- 
titude, and the love of his country, will suffici- 
ently compensate for any ridicule which his scheme 
can incur. I would therefore wish, that what I 
offer should rather be understood as hints than ad- 
vice. If these hints are attended to, I shall reap no 
personal glory; if they are despised, I shall be no 
personal sufferer, as my name will probably never 
be known. But to proceed with my proposals, or 
hints, in which latterlight I am most desirous they 
should be considered, I could wish, to the above- 
mentioned manifesto, was subjoined, the warmest 
letter of thanks to the virtuous ten of the Assembly 
of New- York, for their endeavoursto stem the prc- 
fligacy and wickedness of the majority, and for the 
noble part they have acted as true Americans and 
excellent citizens ; that another address, no less 
warm , should be presented to the gentlemen and peo- 
ple of New- York at large, expressing your opinion 
of their honesty and public spirit, and lamenting 
their peculiar circumstances ; which, to those wha 
are strangers to these circumstances, may inculcate 
a belief that they alone are exceptions to the cha- 
racter of patriotism, which the Americans arc now 
M. 2 



138 

indisputably entitled to. But above alJ, I couid 
wish thj'^ it were recommended to every province 
of the continent, more particularly to their imme- 
diate neighbours of Pennsylvania, the Jei sies, and 
Connecticut, not to suffer one of this depraved un- 
decemvirate to set his foot on their territories, un- 
til he invokes the forgiveness of his country, and 
solemnly engages, that his future life shall be em- 
ployed in making compensation for his present 
conduct, of so obviously a mischievous tendency. 
The epithets prostitute, profligate, &c. which I 
have so freely made use of, may probably appear 
illiberal ; but, when we consider the mischievous 
consequences which the conduct of these Council 
and Assembly-men of New- York are fraught with, 
it must be allowed, that nolanguage can furnish op- 
brobrious terms adequate to their delinquency. 1 am 
far indeed from apprehending that their weight and 
influence are sufficient to shake the virtue of the 
continent, or occasion any defection. I do not 
believe that an individual, much less a set of men, 
will be found who will be stupid and wicked 
enough to tread in their steps ; the infamous* * * 
of Philadelphia, and a small perverse drivelling 
knot of Quakers, who form his Senate and Court 
excepted. 

This Worthy fixed his residence at New-York, 
with the professed intention of working, with some 
congenial spirits in that city, towards the ruin of 
the whole fabric v/hich the Congress had been 
raising. Indeed, it is most probable, that he was 
the principal compiler, if not the dictator, of these 
WTetched addresses. The style and sentiments are 
certainly his : the same mist, fog, and darkness, 
which overcast all his productions, envelope these 
addresses; and the same nanovv, crooked politics, 
low cunning, malignancy, and treachery, discover- 



139 

able through the mist, fog, and obscurity of all 
his works and actions, betray themselves in these 
addresses. 

It may now be asked, as I have represented the 
character, weight and credit of these eleven As- 
sembly-men, of the majority of the Council of 
New- York, and their Philadelphian coadjutor, or, 
more properly, dictator, in so despicable a light, 
wherefore should I sound the alarm ? What mis- 
chiefs can possibly result from the utmost such 
men can do ? I answer, that although they can 
neither occasion any defection, nor present the 
least prospect of success to the enemies of Ame- 
rica, and liberty, they can do very considerable 
mischief: they can procrastinate the issue; they 
can, and most probably will, prolong the inconve- 
niences which we must, more or less, feel during 
the contest. There is nothing more certain than 
that the ministry have proceeded to the enormous 
lengths they have done upon the presumption, that 
the attacks upon Boston would not have been ta- 
ken up by the other provinces as the cause of the 
whole.* There is, therefore, nothing more cer- 
tain, than that the appearance of our firmness and 
unanimity, must soon have overthrown them, or 
forced them into a total change of measures ; but 
the least appearance, that this firmness and unan- 
imity no longer subsists, will encourage them to 
persist, and will enable them to keep their ground 
some time longer. These addresses of New- 
York will give this appearance ; so that whatever 
the gentlemen, the merchants, the tradesmen, the 
mechanics, and the people of America at large, 
suffer from the prolotjgation of ihe contest, what- 
ever shall be added to the distresses and burden 

*That this is the principle they acted upon, is now put out of diis- 
pute by the conduct of I^ord North in the Hovsv of Commons, and 
some speeches directed to him. 



140 

of the people at home, whatever shall further im- 
pair the commerce, strength, credit, and reputa- 
tion of the mother country, and bring her still 
nearer to total bankruptcy and ruin ; whatever shall 
farther alienate the affections of the child from the 
parent, may justly be imputed to this abject 
Councilfand eleven prostitute Assemblymen of 
New-York. 



ON A FAMOUS TRIAL IN THE COURT OF COMMON 
PLEAS, BETWEEN GENERAL MOSTYN, GOVERNOR 
OF MINORCA, AND AN INHABITANT OF THAT 
ISLAND. 

JlT is a maxim with the Emperors of China, 
when the people of any of their provinces offer 
up complaints of their governors, immediately to 
recal them, to hear the charges brought against 
them, and, if they are found guilty, to punish 
them in proportion to their delinquency ; and such 
is the parental complacency of those eastern mo- 
narehs for their subjects, that even when the grie- 
vances complained of prove ill-founded, the go- 
vernor who has had the misfortune, though inno- 
cently, to incur the ill-opinion of the people, is 
never more employed, in the same capacity, over 
that or any other province, his having been suspec- 
ted o^ mal-administration being deemed a total 
disqualification. Though the justice of this max- 
im may not be universally admitted, it certainly 
is a wise one, as it is founded on a respect and de- 
ference of the public wishes ; to which, when it 
can be done compatibly with the public safety, the 
prince ought to pay the greatest regard* But, 
how different has been the rule of conduct obser- 
ved tlirough the whole present reign ! Does a 
governor render himself completely odious to the 



141 

people over whom he is set to preside ? — he is 
that instant adopted a favourite at court. The 
infamous Bernard, who was not only arraigned, 
but stands convicted, in the opinion of all man- 
kind, of one continual series of misrepresentation, 
falsehoods, treachery, and every species of trea- 
son to the people of his government, was contin- 
ued until the last possible moment ; and, when 
recalled, so far from meeting with the censures 
he had merited, that he was exalted to the rank of 
a baronet, and had an ampie provision made for him 
in Ireland. And this public reward for delinquen- 
cy has had the effect which must naturally be ex- 
pected ; for his successor in office, it is reported, 
pitches many bars beyond him in perfidy and 
wickedness, for which he probably expects an 
Irish peerage. And, to say the truth, if our court 
acts consistently with itself, they are obliged as 
his merits are still greater, to confer on him a 
higher title, and a more ample provision than on 
the baronet his predecessor. 

If we turn our eyes towards Ireland, the decen- 
cy and kindness exhibited by the court for that 
peoble is still more striking. The late viceroy, 
by talents peculiar to himself, almost on his first 
landing, incurred the contempt and detestation 
of the whole kingdom, to a man. This was a 
sufficient, and, apparently, the only motive of his 
being continued for a long five years in his sta- 
tion ; for, what other motives can be conjectured ? 
As it is agreed, on all hands, that even the 
wretched expedients from day to day, little jobs 
and larcenies, as well as the more substantial plun- 
dering, called, in the cant of courtiers, business 
of government, were never so miserably bungled 
through as by this ridiculous m.ock-majesty. At 
length, however, a successor is appointed : a 



142 

length, under the protection of the whole mili- 
tary, he is withdrawn from the just resentment 
of the people whom he had oppressed, beggared, 
and insulted ; at length, thus circumstanced, he 
is presented to his sovereign, by whom he is 
caressed, smiled upon, and preferred in so distin- 
guished a manner, that a stranger who had been 
present, would have been apt to imagine him 
returned loaded with the spoils of some ancient 
inveterate enemy of his country, and not with 
the injuries and execration of a whole nation of 
loyal and affectionate subjects. 

Such has been the mode of treating the griev- 
ances of our natural brethren of Ireland and the 
Massachusett's bay, and a still more comfortable 
prospect is opened to our fellow subjects who are 
not of British extraction. The Canadians, the 
inhabitants of the ceded islands, asid of Minorca; 
these people are told, that if their property is in- 
vaded, or their persons insulted, they are to seek 
redress from the King and Council. Are some 
late occurrences calculated to give them confidence 
in those from whom they are to seek redress ? 
Let us, without exaggeration or perversion, state 
the case of General Mostyn and Mr. Fabrigas. 
General Mostyn is accused by Fabrigas of vio- 
lently and illegally throwing him into prison, 
and afterwards banishing him the island, for no 
other crime than petitioning against a regulation 
which he conceived to be prejudicial and grievous. 
The cause is tried : the allegation not only proves 
just in its full extent, but aggravated with a 
variety of wanton, cruel circumstances. — Fabrigas, 
a substantial farmer, is thrown into the dungeon 
appropriated to felons convicted of capital crimes; 
the sentinels receive strict orders not to allow the 
least refreshment to be conveyed to him ; even 



143 

the air-hole is guarded, lest some of his children 
or friends should drop a loaf of bread, or bunch of 
grapes. 

Having lain in this miserable dungeon for some 
days, he is at length hand-cuffed and pinioned, 
drawn forth, and, by the simple fiat of this smart, 
lively minature of God's vicegerent on earth, 
John Mostyn, Esq. hurried on bord a ship* pre- 
pared for the purpose, and interdicted from the 
fire and water of his native island, until it should 
please the said little, mighty John Mostyn, Esq. 
to suspend the interdict. And it was thought a 
wonderful act of clemency, not only by his 
visier, the most accurate, judicious, liberal, ve- 
racious Mr. Wright f, but by another illustrious 
member of the divan, in thus committing the 
bow-string or hatchet into the gentle sentence of 
banishment ; for these worthy ministers gave it 
as their opinion, openly in an English court, that 
strangling and beheading was a part of his High- 
nesses prerogative. But I should beg pardon for 
attempting to be ludicrous upon an occasion so very 
serious, not indeed because a man of Mr. Mostyn's 
stamp, a contemner, and, as far as a very little 
wit will enable him, a ridiculer of all public spirit 
and sentiment, a deserter of his noble friend and 
patron;]:, on the first appearance that he no longer 
possessed the power of serving him farther. 

* He was banished for a year to Cartbagena. His wife, as they 
were carrying- him onboard, appeared on the beach with a matrass, 
but the guard was ordred to drive her away witii their bayonets ; 
this convenience of a matrass being thought too great an indul- 
gence. 

f His secretary. This gentleman was asked in court, whether 
it was a part of the governor's privilege to behead or hang ? and re- 
plied, ingeniously, he beleivedit was. The chief engineer, estf^em- 
ed a man of some seme and learning, seemed to be of the same opin- 
ion. 

t Lord Rockingham ; to whom Mr. Mostyn owed all his great 
preferments : he opposed his patron when minister, because he 
knew it would please tlie cabinet. 



144 

That a man of this stamp should be intoxica- 
ted with authority, and run into violence and ab- 
surdity, when removed from immediate checks, 
is not to be wondered at, nor that such a governor 
should be furnished with a dull mercenary secre- 
tary, ready to execute the mandates of his prin- 
cipal, be they ever so iniquitous and preposterous; 
but that there shot^Id be found a single officer of 
rank, of no despicable parts, and some reading, to 
encourage, advise and justify measures so repug- 
nant to the spirit of our constitution and the rights 
of mankind, is astonishing, and in the highest de- 
gree alarming ; for, if such notions become fashi. 
ionable amongst the military, our laws are but a 
parapet of paper, vvliich the sword is ready to cut 
through on the first hint from a dictator. The 
idea, I say, of such principles becoming fashiona- 
ble in the army must give the most serious alarm 
to every individual who does not wish annihilation 
to the present liberties of these islands, and enslave- 
ment to their posterity. But what follows, is more 
particularly a matter of melancholy concern to our 
fellow subjects, the colonists of America, the Ca- 
nadians, and the people of Minorca. They are, 
it seems, if aggrieved, to seek redress from the 
king and council; but if they have reason to 
think that their redressers will become partisans 
of those who oppress them, what must be the 
situation of their minds ? Will they not naturally 
despair, and resign themselves passively to the 
hand of power, or bravely attempt to redress 
themselves ? To one of these alternatives, a cir- 
cumstance immediately subsequcnttoMr.Mostyn's 
trial, must tend to reduce them. Reeking with 
the infamy of being convicted by an honest jury of 
his country, he dared to present himself at the 
levee of her first magistrate, where he, who is the 



145 

head, and in fact creates anduncreates this court 
from which redress and equity are to flow, he, 
who sliould consider himself as the corrector of 
abuses, and avenger of wrongs, could attempt to 
be facetious on the occasion. Well, General, says 
the King, so you have been cast; and who were 
the counsel employed by your doughty adversary ? 
The General, a veteran courtier, long accustomed 
to royal waggery, smartly replied, the learned 
sergeant Glynn, and the profound duke of Rich- 
mond. This was prodigiously witty, that the 
whole circle, lords of the bed-chamber, maids of 
honour, and privy-council, all burst into a loud 
laugh*. 

This maybe a very excellent joke at St. James's; 
but I can assure Saint James's, that in other places 
it favours but of shallow wit, and that it only serves 
as a proof, for which there was no occasion, of 
the weakness of the heads, and corruption of the 
hearts, within those walls. And I can further assure 
them, that did such nobleuien, and such lawyers, 
as the duke of Richmond, and sergeant Glynn, 
form the circle of the drawing room, it would be 
more for the honour of his Majesty, and the sa- 
tisfaction and safety of the nation, than one com- 
posed of the Grafton's, Sandwiches, Nortons, 
and Wedderburnes. 



A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TREATJIENT OF MAJOR 
GENERAL CONWAY, LATE IN THE SERVICE OF 
AMERICA. 

Philadelphia, December 3, 17T8. 

LrN Monday the 23d of November last, the hon- 
ourable Major General Conway set out from 
this city, on his return to France. The his- 

* It is to be observed, that the Treasury paid General Mostyn's 
damages. 

N 



146 

tory of the treatment this gentleman has received, 
is so singular that it must make a figure in the 
anecdotes of mankind. He was born in Ireland, but 
at the age of six was carried into France ; was 
bred up from his infancy to the profession of arms ; 
and, it is univ^ersally allowed, by the gentlemen of 
that nation, that he has, in their service, the reputa- 
tion of being what is styled un tres brave major 
d^infanterie, which is no small character. It im- 
plies, if I comprehend the term right, a man pos- 
sessed of all the requisite qualities to fill the duties 
of a general officer in the secondar}^ line, but by 
no means ranks him among those favoured mor- 
tals to whom it has pleased God to give so large a 
portion of the ethereal spirit, as to render reading, 
theory and practice unnecessary ; but with the 
spectacle of this phcenomena Heaven entertains the 
earth but very seldom ; Greece, as historians re- 
port, had but one* ; Rome none ; England and 
France, only one each. As to this hemisphere, I 
shall be silent on the sv>bject, lest I should be sus- 
pected of not being serious. But be this as it 
may, it is past doubt that General Conway is a 
man of excellent understanding, quick and pene- 
trating, that he has seen much service, has read a 
great deal, and digested well what he has read. 
It is not less certain, that he embarked, with the 
warmest zeal, for the great American cause, and 
it has never been insinuated, unless by those who 
have the' talent of confounding causes, that his 

* x\lexaiider ; Henry the fifth ; and the Prince of Conde. It may be 
disputed, however, whether these heroes were indebted to the gift 
of Heaven alone for their glories. Alexander served some cam- 
paigns under his father Phibp, bad Ariarolle for his master. Kenry, 
before he became king, distinguished himself in the civil wars against 
the hduse of Northumberland, and, if I recollect right, comman- 
ded in some expedition against the Welsh ; and the Prince of Conde 
had lessons from the great masters formed in the schcols of the wars 
jn the Low Country. 



147 

zeal has diminished. His recompense has been, 
What ? lie has lost his commission ; he has been 
refused thecommon certificate, which every officer 
receives at the expiration of his services, unless 
his delinquencies have been very substantial indeed. 
And for what crime ? For none, by any law, or 
the most strained construction that can be put on 
any la\v. The reasons given are so far from being 
substantial, that they really ought to refiect hon- 
our on his character. It seems he has been accu- 
sed of writing a letter, to a confidential friend, 
comm-imicating an opinion, that the commander 
in chief was not equal to the great task he was 
charged with. Is this a crime ? The contrary. 
If it was really his opinion, it was decent, it was 
honest, it was laudable, it was his duty. Does it 
come under any article of war ? I may venture to 
affirm, that it does not. God help the communi- 
ty that should be absurd enough to frame a law 
which could be construed into such a sense ; such 
a community could not long subsist. It ever has 
been, and ever ought to be, the custom in all ar- 
mies, not absolutely barbarians, for the officers of 
high rank minutely to canvass the measures of 
their commander in chief; and if his faults or 
mistakes appear to them many and great, to com- 
municate their sentiments to each other ; it can be 
attended with no one bad consequence ; for if 
the criticisms are unjust and impertinent, they on- 
ly recoil on the authors ; and the great man who 
is the subject of them, shines with redoubled lus- 
tre. But if they are well founded, they tend to 
open the eyes of the Prince or State, who, from 
blind prejudice, or some strange infatuation, may 
have reposed their affairs in hands ruinously in- 
capable. Does any man of sense, who is the least 
acquainted with history, imagine that the greatest 



148 

generals the world ever produced have escaped 
censure ? Hanibal, Caesar, Turene, Marlborough, 
have all been censured ; and the only method 
they thought justifiable of stopping the mouths of 
their censors, was by a fresh exertion of their tal- 
ents, and a perpetual series of victories. Laissons 
parlor ces bahleurs Pespere. que fwus leur ferme- 
rons la bouche a force des victoires, was the answer 
of the king of Prussia to those worthy gentle- 
men, who thought to recommend themselves by 
informing him, that some of his measures were 
made very free with by certain officers in his ar- 
my. Indeed, it is observable, that in proportion 
to the capacity or incapacity of the commander 
in chief, he. countenances or discountenances the 
whole tribe of tale-bearers, informers, and pick- 
thanks, who ever have been, and ever will be, the 
bane of those courts and armies where they are 
encouraged, or even suffered. Allowing Gener- 
al Washington to be possessed of all the virtues 
and military talents of Epaminondas, and this is 
certainly allowing a great deal, for whether from 
our modern education, or perhaps the modern 
state of human affairs, it is difficult to conceive 
that any mortal in these ages should arrive at such 
perfection ; but allowing it to be so, he would still 
lemain mortal, and of course subject to the infir- 
mities of human nature ; sickness or other casu- 
alties might impair his understanding, his memory, 
or his courage ; and, in consequence of the fail- 
ure, he might adopt measures apparently weak, 
ridiculous, and pernicious. Now, I demand, 
supposing this certainly possible case, whether a 
I w, the letter or spirit of which should absolutely 
seal up the lips and restrain the pens, of every wit- 
ness of the defection, would not, in fact, be de- 
nouncing vengeance against those who alone have 



149 

the means in their power of saving the public from 
the ruin impending, if they should dare to make 
use of these means for its salvation. If there 
were such a law, its absurdity would be so mon- 
strously glaring, that we may hardly say, it would 
be more honoured in the breach than in the ob- 
servance. In the English and French armies, the 
freedom with which the conduct and measures of 
commanders in chief are canvassed is notorious, 
nor does it appear that this freedom is attended 
with any bad coiiisequences ; it has never been 
once able to remove a real great officer from his 
command. Every action of the Duke of Marl- 
borough (every body who has read must know) 
was not only minutely criticised, but his whole 
conduct was dissected, in order to discover some 
crime, blunder, fault, or even trifling error ; but 
all these impertinent pains and wicked industry, 
were employed in vain ; it was a court intrigue 
alone that subverted him ; the low military cabals 
passed as the idle wind. 

General Wolfe, with whom to be compared, it 
can be no degradation to any mortal living, was 
not merely criticised, but grossly calumniated by 
some officers of high rank under him ; but that 
great man never thought of having recourse to 
the letter or construction of any law, in order to 
avenge himself; he was contented with informing 
his calumniators, that he was not ignorant of their 
practices, and that the only method he should take 
for their punishment, would be an active perseve- 
rance in the performance of his duty, which, with 
the assistance of God, he made no doubt would 
place him beyond the reach of their malice. As 
to what liberties they had taken with him person- 
ally, he should wait till he was reduced to the rank 

H 2 



150 

of a private gentleman, and then speak to them in 
that capacity. 

Upon the whole, it appears, that it never was 
understood to be the meanin,^ of the English ar- 
ticle of war, which enjoins respect towards the 
commander in chief; and of course it ought not to 
be understood, that the meaning of that article of 
the American code (which is a servile copy from 
the English) is meant to proscribe the communi- 
cation of our sentiments to one another, on the ca- 
pacity or incapacity of the man on whom the. safe- 
ty or ruin of the state depends ; its intention was 
without doubt in part complimentary, and partly 
to lay some decent restrictions on the licence of 
conversation and writing, which otherwise might 
create a diffidence in the minds of the common sol- 
diery, detrimental to the public service. But that 
it was meant to impose a dead, torpid, idolatrous, 
silence, in all cases whatever, on men, who, from 
their rank, must be supposed to have eyes and 
understanding, nothing under the degree of an id- 
iot can persuade himself; but admitting in oppo- 
sition to common sense and all precedents, the 
proceeding to be criminal ; admitting Mr. Con- 
way guilty of it, to the extent represented, which 
he can demonstrate to be false ; in the name of 
God, why inflict the highest, at least negative pun- 
ishment, on a man untried and unheard. The re- 
fusal of a certificate, of having honestly served, is 
considered as the greatest of negative punish- 
ments ; indeed in the military idea, it is a posi- 
tive one. 

And I sincerely hope, and do firmly believe, 
(such is my opinion of the justice of Congress,) 
that when they have coolly reflected on the merits 
and fortunes of this gentleman, they will do him 
that justice, which nothing but the hasty miscon- 



151 



struction of a law hastily copied from another la^r, 
never defined nor understood, has hitherto preven- 
ted. 



PROPOSALS FOR THE FORMATION OF A TJODY OF 
LIGHT TROOPS, READY TO BE DETACHED ON AN 
EMERGENT OCCASION. 

^jOUNT Polaski is certainly a good soldier, or 
he is not : for my own part, I believe him a very 
good one. In the first place he is a Polander, 
whose genius is adapted to the light or expedite 
war. In the second place, he has had much prac- 
tice in the best schools, and is undoubtedly brave 
and enterprising. If he is not a good soldier, as 
his corps is expensive, he ought not to be detain- 
ed ; therefore, it is expedient, either to send him 
about his business entirely, or to make the proper 
use of him ; but on the supposition that he knows 
his trade, I would propose the following scheme 
— That his legion should be immediately com- 
pleted to twelve hundred men, four hundred cav- 
alry, and eight hundred light infantry — for these 
eight hundred infantry, that a draft should be 
made, without loss of time, from every regiment 
of the continent, entirely of natives ; not so young 
as to be unable to resist the fatigues of this sort of 
service, but of the proper age for violent exercise 
and forced marches. Major Lee, who seems to 
have come out of his mother's womb a soldier, 
should be incorporated in this legion, with the 
rank of Lieutenant- Colonel, and to command spe- 
cifically the whole cavalry. If Major Lee's corps 
(for I know not their strength) will not, added to 
the cavalry Polaski already has, compleat them to 
four hundred, let there be a draft made from the 
other regiment of cavalry. Moilands, Blands, 



152 

and Sheldons, all of natives, and the very youn- 
gest men ; because on Polaski's principle of ex- 
ercise (which I verily believe to be the best in the 
world) none but very young men are capable of 
being trained to the manoeuvres ; but as it is not 
certain that either Count Polaski, or Major Lee 
understand the detail of cavalry, on which so much 
depends, let some Quarter-masters or Sergeants, 
who have served in the British cavalry., (and there 
are many on the continent,) be found out, en- 
couraged with rank and emolument, and employ- 
ed. A corps thus composed, with brave and un- 
derstanding officers at their head, such as are Po- 
laski and Lee, with a few subordinate officers, 
knowing, in the detail, will render more effectual 
service than any ten regiments on the continent. 
It would likewise put a stop, for the future, to 
that odious, pernicious practice of picking the 
best men from every battalion, on what are called 
extraordinary occasions ; which practice has ab- 
solutely no other effect than disgusting the grea- 
ter part of the officers of the army, and rendering 
the whole dispirited and unfit for action. I could 
quote a strong instance of the bad consequences 
of this custom. Some days before the affair of 
Monmouth, General Scott was detached with a 
corps of picked men and officers, to the no small 
disgust of those who were left behind, who could 
not help considering it as a sort of stigma on their 
characters. After this, the Marquis de la Fayette 
was detached with another corps of one thousand, 
picked out in the same manner. This body, now 
consisting of twenty- five hundred men, instead of 
falling on the enemies flanks, did, from some fatali- 
ty, absolutely nothing at all. I was afterwards or- 
dered to march to sustain them, with three scan- 
ty brigades, composed entirely of the refuse; and 



153 

^of this refuse I was under the necessity of forming 
my van- guard on the day of the action of Mon- 
mouth; for the picked corps, by the bhmders 
committed^ were so fatigued that they could 
scarcely move their legs. - 



Philaddphiu, July &lh, 1T99. 

S(»1E QITERIES, POLITICAL AND MILITARY, HU5I- 
BLY OFFERED TO THE CONSIDERATION OF THE 
PUBLIC. 

1st. Whether George the First did not, on 
his accession to the throne of Great Britain, by ma- 
king himself king of a party, instead of the whole 
nation, sow the seeds not only of the subversion 
of the liberties of the people, but of the ruin of 
the whole empire ? 

2d. Whether, by proscribing that class of men, 
to which his ministry were pleased to give the 
appellation of Tories, he did not, in the end, make 
them not only real tories, but even Jacobites ? 

3d. Whether the consequence of this distinc- 
tion, now become real, was not two rebellions ; 
and whether the fruit of those rebellions, although 
defeated, were not septennial parliaments, a large 
standing army, an enormous additional weight 
and pecuniary influence thrown into the scale of 
the crown, which in a few years have borne down, 
not only the substance, but almost the form of 
liberty, all sense of patriotism, the morals of the 
people, and, in the end, overturned the mighty fa- 
bric of the British empire ? 

4th. Whether the present men in power, in this 
state, do not tread exactly in the steps of this per- 
nicious ministry, by proscribing and disfranchising 
so large a proportion of citizens as those men 



154 

whom they find it then- interest to brand with the 
denomination of Tories ? 

5th. Whether Hberty, to be durable, should not 
be constructed on as broad a basis as possible ; and 
whether the same causes, in all ages, and in all 
countries, do not produce the same effects ? 

6th. Whether it is not natural and even justifia- 
ble, for that class of people (let the pretext be ev- 
er so plausible) who have been stripped of their 
rights as men, by the hard hand of power, to wish 
for, and endeavour to bring about, by any means 
whatever, a revolution in that state, which they can- 
not but consider, as an usurpation and tyranny ? 

7th. Whether a subject of Morocco is not, 
when we consider human nature, a happier mor- 
tal, than a disfranchised citizen of Pennsylvania, 
as the former has the comfort of seeing all about 
him in the same predicament with himself; the 
latter, the misery of being a slave in the specious 
bosom of liberty ? The former drinks the cup, 
but the latter alone can taste the bitterness of it. 

8th. Whether an enlightened member of a 
French parliament is not a thousand times more 
wretched than a Russian cirf or peasant ? As to 
the former, the chains, from his sensibility, must 
be extremely galling ; and on the latter, they sit 
as easy as the skin of his back. 

9th. Whether it is salutary or dangerous, con- 
sistent with, or abhorrent from, the principles and 
spirit of liberty and republicanism, to inculcate 
and encourage in the people, an idea, that their 
welfare, safety, and glory, depend on one man ? 
Whether they really do depend on one man ? 

10th. Whether, amongst the late warm, or ra- 
ther loyal addressors, in this city, to his Excellen- 
cy General Washington, there was a single mor- 
tal, one gentleman excepted, who could possibly 
be acquainted with his merits ? 



155 

11th. Whether this gentleman excepted, does 
really think his Excellency a great man ; or whe- 
ther evidences could not be produced of his sen- 
timents being quite the reverse ? 

12th. Whether the armies under Gates and Ar- 
nold, and the detachment under Starke, to the 
Northward, or that immediately under his Excel- 
lency, in Pennsylvania, gave the decisive turn to 
the fortune of war ? 

13th. Whether, therefore, when Monsieur Ge- 
rard and Don Juan de Miralles, sent over to their 
respective courts the pictures of his Excellency 
General Washington at full length, by Mr Peal, 
there would have been any impropriety in sending 
over, at the same time, at least a couple of little 
heads of Gates and Arnold by M. de Simitiere. 

14th. On what principle was it that Congress 
in the year 1776, sent for General Lee quite from 
Georgia, with injunctions to join the army under 
General Washington, then in York-Island, without 
loss of time. 

15th. Whether Congress had reason to be satis- 
fied or dissatisfied with this their recal of General 
Lee, from what subsequently happened on York- 
Island, and at the White-Plains ? 

16th. Whetiier Fort Washinsrton was or was 
not tenable ? Whether there were barracks, case- 
mates, fuel, or water, within the body of the 
place ? Whether in the outworks, the defences 
were in any decent order ? And whether there 
were even platforms for the guns ? 

17th. Whether, if it had been tenable it could 
have answered any one single purpose ? Did it 
cover, did it protect a valuable country ? Did it 
prevent the enemy's ships from passing or repassing 
with impunity ? 

18th. Whether, when General Howe manifest- 



15G 

ly gave over all thoughts of attacking General 
Washington, in the last strong position in the rear 
of White-Plains, and fell back towai^ds York-Is- 
land, orders should not have been immediately dis- 
patched for the evacuation of Fort Washington, 
and for the removal of all the stores of value from 
Fort Lee to some secure spot, more removed from 
the river ? Whether this was not proposed and 
the proposal slighted ? 

19th. Whether the loss of the garrison of 
Fort Washington, and its consequent loss of Fort 
Lee, with the tents, stores, &c. had not such an 
effect on the spirits of the people, as to make 
the difference of twenty thousand men to Ameri- 
ca? 

20th. Whether, in the defeat of Brandewine, 
General Sullivan was really the person who ought 
to have been censured ? 

21st. Wliether, if Duke Ferdinand* had com- 
manded at Germantown, after having gained, by 
the valour of his troops, and the negligence of his 
enemy, a partial victory, he would have contrived, 
by a single stroke of the Bathos, to have corrupt- 
ed this partial victory into a defeat ? 

22d. Whether our positions at Valley Forge 
was not such, that if General Howe, or after- 
wards General Clinton, had been well informed 
of its circumstances, defects, and vices, they 
might not at the head of ten, or even of eight 
thousand men, have reduced the American army 

* In one of the numerous publications which have lately infested 
Philadelphia, it was brought as a crime against Mr. Deane, that he 
had, directly or indirectly, made some overtures to Prince Ferdi- 
nand of Brunswick, to accept the command of the American ai'my, 
who must of coui'se have superceded General Washington. This 
crime appeared to all the foreign officers who are acquainted with 
the prince's reputation as a soldier, in so very ridiculous a light, that 
they never think or speak of it without being thrown into violent fits 
of laughter. 



157 

to the same fatal necessity as the Americans did 
General Burgoyne ? 

23d. Whether the trials of General St. Clair, 
of which court-martial General Lincoln was pre- 
sident, and that on General Lee, were conducted 
in the same forms, and on the same principles ? 
Whether in the former, all hearsay evidences 
were not absolutely rejected ; and in the latter hear- 
say evidence did not constitute a very considerable 
part? 

24th. Whether, if the Generals Schuyler and 
St. Clair, had been tried by the same court-mar- 
tial as General Lee was, and, instead of Congress, 
General Washington had been the prosecutor, those 
gentlemen (unexceptionable as their conduct was) 
would not have stood a very ugly chance of being 
condemned? And whether, if instead of Gene- 
ral Washington, Congress had been the prosecutor, 
General Lee would not probably have been ac- 
quitted with the highest honour ? 

25th. Whether it must not appear to every man 
who has read General Washington's letter to Con- 
gress, on the aifair at Monmouth, and the pro- 
ceedings of the Court-Martial, by which General 
Lee was tried, that if the contents of the former 
are facts, not only General Lee's defence must be 
a tissue of the most abominable audacious lies, but 
that the whole string of evidences, both on the 
part of the prosecution and prosecuted, must be 
guilty of rank perjury, as the testimonies of those 
gentlemen, near forty innumber, delivered on oath, 
scarcely in one article coincide with the detail gi- 
ven in his JLxcellency's letter? 



158 
COPY OF GENERAL LEE^s WILL. 



J.5 Major General Charles Lee, of the 
county of Berkeley, in the commonwealth of Vir- 
ginia, being in perfect health, and of a sound 
mind, considering the certainty of death, and the 
uncertainty of the time it may happen, have de- 
termined to make this my last will and testament, 
in manner following : that is to say, I give and 
bequeath to Alexander White, esq. one hundred 
guineas, in consideration of the zeal and integrity 
he has displayed in the administration of my 
affairs, also the choice of any two of my colts or 
iillies under four years of age. 

Item, I give and bequeath to Charles Minn 
Thruston, esq. fifty guineas, in consideration of 
his good qualities and the friendship he has mani- 
fested for me ; and to Buckner Thruston, his son, 
I leave all my books, as I know he will make a 
good use of them. 

To my good friend, John Mercer, esq. of 
Marlborough in Virginia, I give and bequeath 
the choice of two brood mares, of all my swords 
and pistols, and ten guineas to buy a ring : I 
would give him more, but as he has a good estate 
and abetter genius, he has sufficient, if he knows 
how to make a good use of them. 

I give and bequeath to my former aid-de-camp, 
Otway Bird, esq. the choice of another brood 
marc, and ten guineas for the same purpose of a 
remembrance-ring. 

I give and bequeath to my worthy friend Colo- 
nel William Grayson, of Dumfries, the second 
choice of two colts : and to. my excellent friend 
William Steptoc, of Virginia, I would leave a 



159 

great deal, but as he is now so rich, it would be 
uo less than robbing my other friends who are 
poor. I therefore entreat, he will only accept of 
five guineas, which I bequeath to him to purchp.se 
a ring of aftection. 

I bequeath to my old and fiiithful servant, or 
rather humble friend, Guisippi Minghini, three 
hundred guineas, with all my horses, mares, and 
colts of every kind, those above mentioned ex- 
cepted ; likewise all my wearing apparel and 
plate, my waggons and tools of agriculture, and 
his choice of four milch cows. 

I Ijeqiieath to Elizabeth Dunn, my housekeeper, 
one hundred guineas and my whole stock of cat- 
tle, the four milch cows above mentioned only 
excepted. 

I had almost forgot my dear friends, (and I 
ought to be ashamed of it,) Mrs. Shippen, her 
son Thomas Shippen, and Thomas Lee, esq. of 
Belle-View. I beg they will accept ten guineas 
each, to buy rings of affection. 

My landed estate in Berkeley, I desire may be 
divided into three equal parts, according to qua- 
lity and quantity ; one-third part I devise to my 
dear friend Jacob Morris, of Philadelphia; one 
other third part to Evan Edwards, both my for- 
mer aid de camps, and to their heirs and assigns ; 
the other third part I devise to Eleazer Oswald, at 
present of Philadelphia, and William Goddard, 
of Baltimore, to whom I am under obligations, 
and to their heirs and assigns, to be equally divi- 
ded between them •, but these devisees are not to 
enter until they have paid off the several legacies 
above mentioned, with interest from the time of 
my death, and all taxes which may be due on my 
estate. In case I should sell my said landed es- 
tate I bequeath the price thereof, after paying the 



I6d ' 

aforesaid legacies, to the said Jacob Morris, Kvm 
Edwards, Eleazer Oswald, and William Goddard, 
in the proportions above mentioned. 

All my slaves, which I may be possessed of at 
the time of my decease, I bequeath to Guisippi 
Minghini and Elizabeth Dunn, to be equally divi- 
ded between them. 

All my other property of every kind, and in 
every part of the world, after my decease, funeral 
charges, and necessary expenses of administra- 
tion are paid, I give, devise, and bequeath to my 
bister Sidney Lee, her heirs and assigns for ever. 
. I desire most earnestly, that I may not be buried 
in any church, or church-yard, or within a mile of 
any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting-house ; 
for since I have resided in this country, I have 
kept so much bad company when living, that I do 
not chuse to continue it when dead. 

I recommend my soul to the Creator of all 
\\ orlds and of all creatures ; who must, from his 
visible attributes, be indifferent to their modes 
of worship or creeds, whether Christians, Maho- 
metans, or Jews ; whether instilled by education, 
or taken up by reflection ; whether more or less 
absurd ; as a weak mortal can no more be answer- 
able for his persuasions, notions, or even scepti- 
cism in religion, than for the colour of his skin. 

And I do appoint the above-named Alexander 
White and Charles Minn Thruston, executors of 
this my last will and testament, and do revoke all 
other wills by me heretofore made. In witness 
whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal 
this day of 

in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hun- 
dred and eighty-two. 

^ :if. i^ ik. £^ sk. 

CHARLES LEE. I seal, t 



161 



Signed, sealed, published, 
and declared by the said Ma- 
jor General Charles Lee, as, 



jor oenerai ^nanes l.cc, as, / 
and for, his last will and tes- \ 
tament. In presence of 

JAMES SMITH, 
SAMUEL SWEARINGEN, 
WlLLIAJyt GARRARD. 



At a court held for Berkeley county the 15th 
day of April, 1783, this last will and testament of 
Charles Lee, deceased, was presented in court by 
Alexander White, one of the executors therein 
named, who made oath thereto according to law, 
and the same being proved to be executed on the 
10th day of September, 1782, by the oaths of 
James Smith and Samuel Swearingen, two of the 
witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded ; 
and on the motion of the said executor who enter- 
ed into bond with Adam Stephen, esq. his secu- 
rity, in the penalty of twenty thousand pounds, 
conditioned for his true and faithful administration 
of the said estate. Certificate is granted him for 
obtaining a probate thereof in due. form of law. 

A COPY. 

WILLIAM DREW 



2 



LETTERS 

TO AND FROM 

MAJOR GENERAL LEE 



I 



LETTERS 



TO 



CENEIlALr L.EE5 

FROM SEVERAL EMINENT CHARACTERS EOTH IN 
EUROPE AND AMERICA. 



I.o):do7i, Xov. ■IlGtli,i~t59. 
Mr DEAR Lef, 

jL our American posts are excessive hard upon 
me, and mai reglee'^s. You and Montgomery are 
so good as to write to me often from thence. I 
have been, upon honour, very exact in my answers, 
without having been lucky enough that either of 
you should have heard from me. This time I 
hope to be more fortunate, having recommended 
my letter to the best hand. I envy you all the 
service you have seen whilst I have been in the 
most sluggish inactivity. I have indeed got a son, 
but cela ne conte gueres. Our good fortune, and 
that of our friends, has been indefatigable this 
vear. To-dav, we have the news of the surrender 
of Munster and the French in Germany retinng, 
probably into winter quarters. Daun is doing the 
same, and islikely to leave the amazingkingof Prus- 
sia once more in possession of Saxony. The Rus- 
sians, we flatter ourselves, will move no more. 
The Brest fleet is out ; Hawke after them, and a 
good account of them hoped for, and expected 
every moment. Next year I hope to have some- 
thing to do in Germany, where they talk of sen- 
ding us. I believe you already know my trade — 
Lieutenant Colonel to George Elliott's Light Dra« 



166 

goons. Being as horse-mad as ever, and having 
the rank of Colonel before by being the King's aid 
de camp, I preferred that to a young regiment of 
foot. So man}'^ children have of late been made 
Generals, that we Children-colonels are already 
very high in the list. The riding of this new 
corps has kept me fully employed this whole sum- 
mer, and I am now come up to town for winter 
quarters, which the season make much more pleas- 
ant than the country ones. We are all here in 
grief for the loss of poor Wolfe. Nobody of that 
age can be more publicly and privately admired 
and regretted. The war in America, we are in 
hopes will be over very soon; if so, I shall hope then 
to have the pleasure of seeing you. The French's 
fighting-days seem to be over, or at least, sus- 
pended. Every day produces a change amongst 
them, of generals, admirals, and ministry ; and 
every thing speaks them to be in the greatest pov- 
erty and disunion. It don't often happen here, or 
any where else, I believe ; but there is certainly 
at present amongst all here the greatest spirits and 
unanimity imaginable, and no appearances of want; 
much debauch, and good living ; so pray come 
amongst us soon. You have the good fortune not 
only to have seen service enough, but most of it 
successful. All your friends are well. Adieu, 
my dear Lee ! let me hear from you when you 
can, and be assured that no one can interest them- 
selves more sincerely about you than. 

Your most affectionate Friend, and 
Humble Servant, 

PEMBROKE. 
To • 
Capt. Charles Lee, 
In the 44th Reg. Albany. 



i3EAR Charles, 



167 

London, Nov. 28tk, 1759. 



JL OU have obliged me very much by a second 
letter come lately to my hands, and dated at Nia- 
gara : We had before received accounts of the re- 
duction of it, and your being in possession of the 
glorious country around ; which, by your descrip- 
tion, must be a paradise indeed ; and it is much to 
be wished, it may never again go out of your hands. 
Our acquisitions this year have been so great and 
important, that it has been thought proper to ap- 
point to-morrow a public thanksgivingday : and 
though Amherst has not got so forward as was ex- 
pected, yet he sends word he is master of Lake 
Champlain ; which, as we are possessed of the 
other side of Quebec, must bound the enemy be- 
tween the two in such a manner, as, we con- 
clude here, will distress them extremely, if not 
oblige them to make submission and surrender. 
In Europe, you will have iieard Boscawen fell in 
with the Toulon fleet, and took four of them ; 
and we are now in hourly expectation of Hawke's 
overtaking the Brest fleet, which stole out of the 
harbour the other day, in order, as it is supposed, 
to cover a descent, either upon Ireland or this 
country, which they have long threatened us with : 
but it must be a very desperate game they are 
playing, since, if our ships have the luck to come 
up with them, we have little fear here of their 
giving them such a blovv' as will put an end to the 
naval force of France for some time to conic— 
But I will talk no more of public affairs ; it will 
probably be of greater satisfaction to you, to hear 
of the welfare of your friends and relations, which 
I am happily enabled at present to assure you of ; 
for I know not of any exception amongst them 



168 

all. My son is gone to Turin, and I hope we may 
presume upon his health, though we have not late- 
ly heard from him ; he is to stay here five or six 
months, and afterwards to ramble about Italy an- 
other twelve-month. Your sister Sidney com- 
plains you do not write so often as she wishes. I 
gave her the satisfaction of knowing you had fa- 
voured me lately with a letter, and that you were 
well and happy, as I am willing to suppose by the 
strain of your style, which is very iivel}'^ and enter- 
taining. The books and chocolate you desired, 
have been sent to Mr. Calcroft near a month ago, 
who has taken the charge of them ; and I hope 
they will get safe to your hand : But sure you are 
not to stay on that continent for ever : We wish 
you to come again among your friends, and proba- 
bly some change might be procured, as well as ad- 
vance on this side of the water, if you desired it. 
Lord Graiiby commands in Germany at present, 
and is likely to be at the head of the army on this 
side of the water too, if Ligonier drops ; and it 
is supposed he cannot last a great while longer. 
The taking of Munster, which we had advice of 
the other day, will be of great importance to our 
allied army, and secure them good winter quarters. 
A great many matches ai'c talked of here in town, 
so that if you do not come soon, all our fine young 
ladies will be disposed of; but I know of none 
of your more particular acquaintance that have, 
or are about, changing their state. Pray go on 
writing to us ; nobody better qualified to entertain 
by their letters : I wish I had as good a knack on 
my side for the sake of your amusement. Your 
aunt and cousins beg to live constantly in your 
memory and good wishes ; they desire I will as- 
sure you, you have theirs most heartily ; and I 



i6y 

hope I need not add, that you will invariably have 
those of your affectionate and obliged uncle, 

WILLIAM BUNBURY. 
Capt. Charles Lee. 



ll'arsaic, Ajinl 29//j, i'CT. 
My Dejib Colonel, 

A ADMIRE, very much, the subtilty of your 
reasoning, and the arguments you run after, to 
prove me in fault for the silence you have long 
observed, which, I confess, has furnished me often 
with subject for reflections. The receipt of your 
letter has given me 59 much pleasure, that I ought 
in gratitude to forget every uneasy thought that 
I have permitted to torment me whilst I was in 
expectation of it ; and therefore shall proceed im- 
mediately to thank you for the intelligence it 
brings me, and the assurances it renews of your 
affection and friendship. 

I should have been heartily glad to have heard, 
ray dear Colonel, that His Majesty's recommend- 
ation had been more successful in procuring you 
an establishment equal to your merit and wishes ; 
but am not at all surprised that you find the door 
shut against you by the person who has such un- 
bounded credit ; as you have ever too freely in- 
dulged a liberty of declaiming, which many infa- 
mous and invidious people have not failed to in- 
form him of. The principle on which 3'ou thus 
openly speak your mind, is honest and patriotic, 
but not politic ; and as it will not succeed in 
changing men or times, common prudence should 
teach us to hold our tongues, rather than to risque 
our own fortunes without any prospect of advan- 
tage to ourselves or neighbours. Excuse this 
p 



170 

scrap of advice, my dear Colonel, and place it to 
the vent of a heart entirely devoted to your in- 
terest. 

I remember my promise, to inform you of the 
transactions of this place ; and had I received a 
line from you upon the road, should have endea- 
voured to find time during the diet to have given 
you a sketch of the critical and unexpected affairs 
that agitated us ; it will be needless now, as the 
public papers and your other correspondents here 
have, doubtless, not failed to instruct you. The 
important affair of the dissidents was rudely and 
insolently refused ; and you cannot be ignorant 
that those gentlemen have formed two confedera- 
tions in Poland and in Lithuania, supported by a 
Hussian army of thirty or forty thousand men, 
and that we expect a diet extraordinary in the 
months of August or September, for terminating 
their demands, to the satisfaction of the powers 
who interest themselves in their behalf : and 
though it is impossible to say how it will end, yet 
the appearances at present are much in their fa- 
vour, and we have all reason to think, that it will 
be conducted without any interruption of the tran- 
quillity of the republic. 

You must not imagine, that however important 
this negociation is, that our great men cannot find 
time for other amusements and engagements. — 
The object that engrosses our attention at this mo- 
ment, is love, and the family of Clavereau, (you 
remember the French actor and his two daugh- 
ters:) Prince Caspar Lubomirski marries the 
youngest daughter to day, and the eldest ran away, 
and married a musician, two days ago, having re- 
ceived from R- a considerable sum, as a re- 

compence for so infamous a part, and as serving 
only for a cloak to his views of getting her out of 



171 

her father's house. The father has acted, on this 
occasion, like a prince, and the ambassador like a 
comedian ; the latter laughs, and is content with 
his dexterity, and his flatterers tell him. he is an ha- 
bile 7iegotiateur : but every prudent and impartial 
man must condemn a person of his rank and cha- 
racter — father of many children, and past the heat 
of youth — for having committed such an extra- 
vagance. 

The chart du pais remains pretty much the same 
as when you left us ; the same friendships and the 
same quarrels. You have been the instrument of 

making Liiid's fortune ; M — has given him 

the absolute direction and education of Mons. 
Chambelkm's son, \\\th a pension for life, and he 
is to travel with him in a couple of years ; and I 
cannot but congratulate both parties, for Lindhas 
great merit as a scholar, and a man of principles 
and worth. 

I am much obliged to you, my dear Colonel, 
for your offers of service, and am convinced, that 
you would seize any opportunity of being useful 
to me ; I don't know in what manner you can do 
me a greater, than in the conservation of your sen- 
timents for me. Take care of your health, and 
husband well your fortune, which is sufficient to 
make you hiippy; and, in your happiness, I 
shall always find a sincere satisfaction. Adieu, 
my dear Colonel ! I am, and shall be, to the end 
of my life, 

Your affectionate Friend and Servant, 

THOMAS WROUGHTON. 
Col. Lee. 



172 

Island Sh John, Nov. iOth, 17T2. 
Mr Dkar Lee, 

vrF ail men on earth, you are the last„ from 
Avhom I expected to hear, unless it was in a para- 
,G;raph of a foreign Gazette, that such a day Mons. 
General Lee, un Jngiois, was cut to pieces, de- 
fendinj^ his Polish Majesty, or in some desperate 
uncommon attack ; or, which was full as likely, 
that you was hanged for treason, in some of the 
daiuned arbitrary governments you have been 
Avandering through. But, how surprised ! when 
in the place of this, I received a flattering letter 
from you, dated Dijon. Surely, Lee, the climate 
oF France has produced this wonderful effect. I 
am sure in Old England you would never flatter 
any man, much less one whom you honoured with 
your friendship. Do you not know how apt we 
ail are to forget oujrselves when in power, or upon 
any sudden elevation ; arid how very ready we 
are to believe all the handsome things that even 
the most abject sycophants are pleased to bespat- 
ter us with ? Then, my friend, how much more 
dangerous must it be from a man, of whose un- 
derstanding I have always had the highest opin- 
ion ? And who is so remarkable for his candor 
and freedom of speech, that they are, to the dis- 
grace of our day, well known to be his greatest 
enemies. In spite of what I say, I will acknow- 
ledge I am proud of your good opinion, though 
delivered in too flattering a style ; but I hope 
it will have no other effect than to make me endea- 
^'our to deserve it. 

Taking it for granted, that you will like to 
know how I bear my promotion, I will give you 
as impartial an account of it, in as few words as it 
is possible for a man to give of himself. I feel my- 



173 

self independent, and a slave to slaves, obliged to 
court. and flatter men whom I despised, both for 
their want of abilities and want of honesty. I 
hate power, and those in it, more and more every- 
day. I am plainer in my table and apparel than 
you ever knew me, without an attempt or wish 
to be rich. I have children and I feel they may 
one day be under another government, on the spot 
where their father once presided. This helps to 
make me careful, and as tender as possible of those 
entrusted to my care. My actions are as public 
as they can possibly be made ; and I hope my 
children and friends will never have reason to 
blush, or be ashamed to hear of them. I find 
the care of a people a more difficult thing than 
I imagined it to be, and I find myself very de- 
fective as a legislator : the former, perhaps time 
may render more easy, and 1 am endeavouring 
to remedy the latter, by as close an application, 
to study the spirit of the laws of my country, 
as is in my power; in the mean time, I am 
cautious of doing much, least I may do more 
evil than good. This, if I know any thing of my- 
self, is truth. How you will like the daubed por- 
trait, I know not, nor whether or not, I may not 
forfeit a part of your good opinion, by the bad- 
ness of the attempt. 

Having said so much of myself, I now come ta 
your business; and in the first place, I promise you, 
if it be in my power to do any for you, I will,' and 
with more pleasure than you can ask me. In the 
mean time, I can answer you some of your que- 
ries to a greater certainty, by being here, than if 
I had received your letter in Suffolk street, where 
you directed it to me. You desire to know if it 
is worth your while to lay out any money on your 
lands in this island ; I answer, ves. You have 

p 2 " 



174 

half of the very best lot on this island, or at least 
as p;oocl as any, and were I in your circumstances, 
I would be proprietor of the whole of it ; in that 
manner I would lay out the first money. There 
are a good many French who live upon it already ; 
but for want of title to the land, they do not im- 
prove it as they might : these would commence a 
small rent immediately, for which reason you ought 
to appoint an agent; and if you do not like to 
purchase the other half, you ought to come to 
some agreement with Sir Francis M'Leane, either 
to have a division made of it, or to bear a share of 
the expences; but I would by all means recom- 
mend the former, that is to say, to purchase the 
whole, or to have it divided. 

The kind of man, I would recommend to you 
as an agent, would be an English farmer, an active 
fellow, with a genius a little above the common 
run of them ; one that would not be so much 
guided by old customs, as to attempt ploughing 
here in February, because he was used to do so at 
home ; in short, a man who can think a little and 
accommodate both himself and his labour to the 
climate. As you have a plentiful fortune, no mat- 
ter whether or not he has, perhaps better not. To 
such a man you might give at an easy rent, as 
much land as he thought would make him a com- 
plete farm. He ought to bring some servants 
with him, who ought to be bound for three or 
four years, he paying them yearly wages, some- 
thing more than they get in England. He ought 
to bring likewise all the iron parts of every kind 
of farming utensils, and all the necessary iron work 
for building himself a house ; and, beside that, 
either money, or a credit to purchase cattle and a 
year's provisions. 



175 

If you had such a man well settled ; and it 
should be done in such a manner, that he might 
feel as few inconveniences as possible ; he would 
soon bring you more ; for you may depend upon 
it, the soil and climate both would please him. 
He ought to have a power of attorney to let your 
lands, and indeed as extensive a one as you, from 
your knowledge of the man, would think prudent 
to entrust him with. 

But after all, dear Lee, what is there to hinder 
you from taking a view of the place yourself, nay, 
of being your own agent. Do not you think the 
cultivating your lands, and improving your con- 
stitution and fortune, is a much more rational, and 
perhaps I might say, sensible employment, than 
scampering over all the continent of Europe, in 
search of damned Hungarian fevers. Come, Lee, 
and leave Hume to cram his history down the 
throats of his countrymen, for few others read it. 
You will find your gall bladder decrease in size 
very much, without writing strictures upon any 
thing ; or even abusing a king or a Barrington, as 
scon as you set foot upon this our free and hospi- 
table coast : and to encourage you, as I know you 
like good living, I will engage to give you as good 
beef, mutton, poultry, and salt fish, as you ever 
met with, and as my countrymen say, a hundred 
thousand welcomes. And now, taking it for gran- 
ted, that you will be as tired with reading, as I am 
with writing, by the time you get thus far, I will 
finish, by assuring you, that I am your affection- 
ate friend, and servant, 

W. PATTERSON. 
Colonel Lee. 



Dear Sin. 



176 

Wesiminskr, Feb. ist, 1T7.5. 



1 RECEIVED two letters from you ; one by 
Mr. Hey, the other by the pacquet : I thank you 
most sincerely for both. Your first was particu- 
larly acceptable, as it gave me an opportunity of 
renewing and of improving my acquaintance with 
a gentleman, for whose character I have always 
had an high esteem. My particular friends were 
the first who took notice of his merit. They im- 
agined, that they could not do a better service to 
government, in a newly acquired French country, 
than to send them one of the best samples we were 
able to furnish of plain manly English sense and 
integrity. I wish those who rule at present may 
shew by the provision they make for him here, 
that such qualities are still in some request among 
ourselves. 

It was extremely kind of you to remember your 
friends in our dull worn out hemisphere, among 
the infinite objects of curiosity, that are so exhu- 
berantly spread out before you, in the vast field 
of America. There is indeed, abundant matter, 
both natural and political, to give full scope to a 
mind active and enterprising like yours ; where so 
much has been done and undone ; and where still 
there is an ample range for wisdom and mistake. 
Either must produce considerable effects in an af- 
fair of such extent and importance. It will be no 
light mischief, and no trivial benefit. When one 
considers, what might be done there, it is truly 
miserable to think of its present distracted condi- 
tion ; but as the errors which have brought things 
into that state of confusion are not likely to be 
corrected by any influence of ours upon either side 
of the water, it is not wise to speculate too much 



177 

on the subject : it can have no effect, but to make 
ourselves uneasy, without any possible advantage 
to the public. 

Here, as we have met so we continue, in the 
most perfect repose. It has been announced to us, 
that we are to have no business but the gold coin; 
this has not appeared as yet : And if there be no- 
thing further than we hear of intended, it will 
come on time enough. The politics of the con- 
tinent, which used to engage your attention so 
much, attract no part of ours. Whether the Ame- 
rican affairs will be brought before us is yet uncer- 
tain. 

Saturday, I heard the Massachusett's petition 
against their governor and deputy, discussed be- 
fore council. It was spoken to, very ably by the 
counsel on either side ; by Messrs. Dunning and 
Lee, for the province ; by Mr. Wedderburn for 
the governors. The latter uttered a furious phi- 
lippic against poor Doctor FrankUn, It required 
all his philosophy, natural and acquired, to sup- 
port him against it. I hear that the petition will 
be rejected. The council was the fullest of any 
in our memory ; thirty-five attended. 

I hope, as you say nothing of it in your last let- 
ter, that your fit of the gout was but gentle, and 
rather a sharp remedy than any thing that deserves 
to be called a disease. With many thanks for 
your obliging remembrance, and all good wishes 
for an agreeable journey and safe return, I am, 
Dear Sir, 

Your most obedient humble Servant, 
EDMUND BURKE. 



Dear Lee, 



178 

New-York, June IO//1, 1T74. 



X SHOULD have done myself the pleasure to 
have wrote to you before ; but really did not 
know where a letter would find you ; sometimes 
we heard you were gone to the West- Indies ; at 
another, that you were gone on to Carolina ; by 
Mr. Bird, I am informed you are still in Virginia. 

I expected before now, to have heard from go- 
vernor Chester, relative to your land in West Flo- 
rida, but suppose I shall shortly. I set out in a few 
days to join our worthy friend General Gage at 
Boston ; he is come out with very extraordinary 
powers, and has wrote for me : It is a very for- 
tunate circumstance, that the power both civil and 
military hath fallen into the hands of so moderate 
a man as General Gage ; I hope he will gain great 
credit on this critical occasion ; his abilities are 
good, and with respect to his heart, you who 
know him so well, will allow him to be possessed 
of one of the best kind. 

Your things are all left with Mrs. Aire who will 
take care of them. I enclose you a letter from 
Dunbar, and one I picked up in the coffee-house 
for you. Dagworthy has got a company in the 
48th regiment, through Colonel Vaughan's inter- 
est. 

I am. Dear Lee, with great truth, 
Yours most sincerely, 

THOMAS GAMBLE. 
To General Lee, 



Traullers Rest, July 1, 1T74. 
My Dear Lee, 

A RECEIVED your welcome letter by Mr. 
Wormley, and live in daily expectation of see- 



179 

ing you at my hut. I now wish more than ever 
for that satisfaction, as the alarms of the times 
make me earnest to consult, and converse with 
you thereupon. Until actions convince me of 
the contrary, I am resolved to think Mr. Gage 
has some secret medicine in his pocket, to heal the 
wounds that threaten the life of American liberty. 
Surely amanso humane, so sensible, sohonourable, 
so independent in his circumstances, and so great 
from family expectations, would never undertake 
a business, fit only for an abandoned desperado, 
or a monster in human shape, a General Murray, a 
Macro, or a Ravilliac. 

I cannot think what detains you so far to the 
Southward, at this season of the year ; without 
any disparagement to Williamsburg, health, and 
such as you like for associates, are more certainly 
to be met with to the Northward j I know not, 
how you find it, but the older I grow, I become 
less and less inclined to new acquaintance: Self- 
ishness and sycophantry possess so generally the 
minds of men, that 1 think the many are best 
avoided, and the few only who are liberal and sin- 
cere, to be sought for and caressed. I therefore 
stick steadily to the cultivation of my farm, am 
intimate with few, read when I have time, and 
content myself with such domestic comforts as my 
circumstances and fortune aflbrd me. I wish 
therefore, most anxiously, you would come to my 
retreat, and there let us philosophise on the vices 
and virtues of this busy world, the follies and the 
vanities of the great vulgar and the small. 

Laug-h where we please, be canded where we c*n. 
And justify the ways of God to man. 

Mrs. Gates is earnest in desiring to see you un- 
der her roof, where a good bed is provided for you, 
two or three slaves to supply all your wants and 



180 

whimsies ; and space enough about us for you to 
exercise away all your spleen and gloomy moods, 
whensoever they distress you. In my neighbour- 
hood there is this moment as fine a farm mill, and 
tract of land to be sold as any in America, and 
provided it is convenient to you to pay down half 
the price, I am convinced you may have it a very 
great bargain. It is altogether two thousand 
foui hundred acres, at thirty shillings sterling 
an acre; I am satisfied you might have it so. 
By pitying down about one thousand eight 
hundred pounds sterling, you may be put in 
possession of an estate, that ten years hence will 
be worth seven thousand pounds sterling ; and 
I take it for granted, that you may have the pay- 
ment of the rest of the purchase money, at easy 
installments, and that too without interest; so by- 
laying out a thousand pounds sterling more, in 
stocking and improvements, your produce will 
yield you a fine fiving, and wherewithal to pay 
your annual installment, bargained for in the pur- 
chase. I suppose you have procured from Lord 
Dunmore his warrant for your five thousand acres 
upon the Ohio, that will be very soon <^f conside- 
rable value. As to the Indians, the behitviour of 
certain of the white people is be3^ond all compari- 
son abominable towards those unhnppy natives ; 
not content with quiet possession of ail die land on 
this side the Ohio, they demand as a preliminary to 
a peace, all the land between that river and the Mis- 
sisippi — but this story is too long for a letter, 3 ou 
shall know the whole of this iniquitous affair 
when we meet — the gentleman who does me the 
favour to present you diis letter, has the pleasure 
of your acquaintance, and can very fully inform 
you of the exceeding wickedness and absurdity 
of the measures pursued, and pursuing, against the 



181 

Indians. I have read with wonder and astonish- 
ment Gage's proclamations ; surely this is not the 
same man, you and I knew so well in days of yore; 
but that men should change, neither you nor I will 
be surprised at ; it is rather matter of amazement 
when they do not. 

August the seventeenth ; I am this instant re- 
turned from Baltimore, and hoped to have cro'Ssed 
upon you, ni your route to the Northward, but 
like Swift's Mordanto you were vanished. I was 
sorry for it, as I might have prevailed upon you 
to have tempered your zeal with caution, before 
all such persons as may reasonably be suspected to 
watch your words and actions, where your zeal in 
the noble cause you mention can be exerted to 
effect, too much cannot be sliewn ; but be careful 
how you act, for be assured Gage knows you too 
well, and knows you know him too well not to be 
glad of any plausible pretence to prevent your 
good services in the public cause. Farewell, my 
friend ; remember I am, what I have always pro- 
fessed myself to be, and that I am ready to risk 
my life to preserve the liberty of the Western 
world. 

On this condition would I build my fame, 

And emulate the Greek or Roman name ; 

Think Freedom's rights boug'ht cheaply with my blood. 

And die with pleasure for my country's good. 

While I live, I am 

Yours unchringeably, 

HORATIO GATES. 



Mr DKAR Lee, 



182 

London, Sept, Sd, I7T.4. 



RECEIVED your long letter with great plea- 
sure, and will answer it as fully as I am able. 
You must have misunderstood me, in what I said 
of the bill to alter the Massachusetts government, 
if you imagined I had either concurred in, or 
even forborn to express my fullest disa])prob"tion 
of it, when it was depending in the house. The 
fact is so much otherwise, that I fought it through 
every stage, almost alone, when most of the oppo- 
sition were attending the New-Market meeting, or 
other occupations, equally entitled to be preferred 
to that duty. I may have said indeed, that I pre- 
fer the form of the English government to that of 
any other country upon earth, because it appears 
to me most calculated to reconcile necessary re- 
straint and natural liberty, and to draw the line 
between them. It is the government I was born 
under, I am happy to live under, and would wil- 
lingly die to preserve and transmit entire ; but I 
look upon the first principle of that constitution 
to be, that the whole must be governed by the will 
of the whole, and that any government where the 
authority residing with the Jew is supported by 
any other power than that of the many, in conse- 
quence of their free concurrence and full appro- 
bation, is the worst of tyranny. Judge then, my 
dear friend, whether I could approve of tearing 
from a free and happy people that form of govern- 
ment which had been purchased with the blood, 
and established by the wisdom of their ancestors; 
and of subverting that excellent polity, endeared 
to them by their prosperity, and sanctified by the 
most laudable of human predilections, a venera- 
tion for their ancestors, and an enthusiasm for the 



183 

permanence of their liberties. Nolomus Leges 
Anglia 7nutariy was the noblest expression that 
ever bore testimony to the spirit of a free legisjj^- 
ture. I think it as laudable at Boston now, as in 
London some centuries ago. So far I stand upon 
the ground of natural right and manly feeling — 
thus much, I say, because — Homo sum — but to 
descend to the humbler ground of policy, nothing 
can be so absurd, or impolitic, as to shake a frame 
sanctified by long possession, for the caprice of a 
moment, or the fancies of a icw ; to sacrifice the 
wisdom of ages to the presumption of an hour ; 
and to divert the stream of government, which has 
fertilised the country and enriched the people, by 
channels which it has gradually formed for itself, 
by surmounting or eluding all the obstacles it has 
met with in its course ; from those channels 
by dams raised by strange hands unacquainted 
with the country, which if they are not borne down 
the torrent must deluge the country and de- 
stroy the ancient land-marks. If therefore I pre- 
fer in speculation the government of Virginia to 
that of Massachusett's Bay, it is not from thinking 
that what appears best in the abstract, should be 
imposed on all : on the contrary, I am convinced 
that the minds of individuals and the manners of 
a people form and adapt themselves naturally and 
imperceptibly to the mode of government, under 
which they are born. The modifications of mu- 
nicipal institutions are in themselves indifferent, 
provided they are approved by the people ; but it 
is of the essence of freedom, and common to all 
free governments, that the people should be con- 
vinced, the laws they live under are of their own 
chusing ; and that there is no power on earth that 
can prolong their existence, or give force to their 
injunctions one hour, after the disapprobation of 
the mass of the people is signified. 



184 

I have been the more full upon this subject, be- 
cause I would not willingly be mistaken in my 
principles upon so material a point. Now I am 
upon the subject of Massachusetts, 1 cannot help 
expressing my surprize that you should have been 
so far misinformed, as to have believed that I, 
amongst the rest, could speak v/ith "approbation 
of that scoundrel Hutchinson," so far from it that 
I agree with you in the epithet, and was the only 
person in the house that declared my detestation 
of his character, and my conviction that his whole 
conduct had been that of a parricide, who had at- 
tempted to ruin his country, to serve his own little 
narrow selfibh purposes. This I did in such poin- 
ted terms that I was informed he had afterwards 
waited upon a friend of mine, who did not see his 
character in so just a light, to thank him for what 
he was pleased to call, defending him against me* 
Be assured, I shall never speak well of a man who 
recommends an abridgement of English liberties 
in any part of the globe, where one spark remains 
unsmothered by corruption, and unextinguished 
by violence. As to the Quebec Bill, I can, with 
pleasure, assure you, that I opposed it, with acti- 
vity throughout ; and though I could not overset 
it, I was at least fortunate enough to set a defined 
bound to despotism ; and say, so far shall thou go, 
and no farther, by drawing the line which protec- 
ted New- York and Pennsylvania ; though I have 
since been told, that Burke takes the merit to him- 
self, but upon what grounds I know not, as I pro- 
posed the line without any communication with 
him. 

As to myself, I am out of Parliament, without 
any prospect of being in ; and though I should 
have thought it infamous to have deserted my 
post and not endeavoured to get in, yet I hardly 



185 

can say, that I much regret my being out, there 
is so little prospect of doing good. 
I am dear Lee, 

Yours, &c. 

•^- * ^- -Jfr * *• ^ -Jf^ , 



Bullimore, Jan. i'^ih, 1T76. 
Sib, 

XOUR civilities to me when at Prospect-hill, 
were such as I expected from the soldier, and the 
gentleman, and demand my warmest thanks, I 
hope I shall ever bear a grateful remembrance of 
them. 

I see by the papers, that you are removed to 
Newport, in Rhode Island, and therefore suspect 
that the ministerialists, unable to bear the pressure 
of want, and the inclemencies of the season, intend 
to remove from Boston, and make Khode- Island 
their head quarters, at least for some time; but of 
this you can best judge whose experience, in some 
degree, enables you to penetrate the designs of 
those in power. 

The king's speech to both houses of Parliament, 
at the opening of the session, clearly evinces the 
necessit}^ of speedy and effectual exertions on the 
part of this continent, for the purpose of oppos- 
ing, with force of arms, the infamous plan adop- 
ted by a venal ministry, for subverting our 
most inestimable privileges. We should imme- 
diately unite, and call forth every spark of virtue 
in so great and important a contest, as all hopes 
of an accommodation arc now lost. America is 
happy in having for generals, gentlemen expe- 
rienced in military operatioris. 

With ardent wishes that America may rise su~ 
<l2 



186 

perior to all oppressions, and become independent, 
I take the liberty of subscribing myself. 

Sir, your obliged, humble servant, 

GEORGE LUX. 

The Hon, Major Gen. Lee. 



Philadelphia, Feb. 19/ft, 1T79. 
My dear General, 

J^ ORTUNE seems to be in a good humour with 
you. It is not enough that you have triumphed 
over external and internal enemies at New- York, 
but you are about to enjoy new triumphs in another 
part of the continent. I tremble only at the price 
of victory on the plains of Abraham. 

I presage the surviving your conquests from one 
part of your character, and that is, you have a 
wonderful talent of infusing your spirit into the 
minds of your troops. Should your blood mingle 
widi the blood of Wolfe, Montcalm, and Mont- 
gommery, posterity will execrate the plains of 
Abraham to the end of time. 

Your appointment to the Canada expedition 
gave all your friends here great pleasure. I think 
it is more than probable, the principal force of 
our enemies w^ill be sent to that quarter. Canada 
is dearer to the king than all the other colonies 
put together, as it is the only part of the British 
empire in which arbitrary power is established by 
law. Should that province become the seat of 
war, we shall have no reason to complain; for 
our sea coasts and sea-port towns are in a poor 
situation to receive our enemies. 

The Gulf and River St. Lawrence, it is to be 
hoped, will concur with the elements in embar- 
rassing them. Mr. Pitt conquered America in 



187 

Germany ; who knows but General Lee may con- 
quer Britain in America ? 

I need not tell you, how much pleasure it will 
give me to receive a few lines from you by all the 
expresses you send to the congress. I shall write 
to you most faithfully by the return of each of 
them. Colonel Thompson speaks in raptures of 
you in all companies. 

The bearer of this letter is Mr. Paine, the cele- 
brated author of Common Sense. 

Adieu, Yours &c. 

AN OLD FRIEND. 
Gen. Lee. 



Wiikhesier, Jan. Viih, 1779. 
Sir, 

X OUR favour of the tenth ultimo, did not reach 
me till the twenty-second instant. I that day 
wrote you an answer by one Mr. Campbell who 
was on his way, and who promised to give my 
letter a conveyance, if he did not see you. I in- 
formed you, that I saw no objections to your pay- 
ing off the incumbrances on your land, and the fu- 
ture payments whenever it is convenient for you 
to do so. 

I should be happy to see the important subject 
of the independence of North America, discus- 
sed in the perspicuous and able manner you are ca- 
pable of. I have troubled you with some of my 
crude thoughts, to afford you an opportunity when 
leisure will permit, and inclination lead you, to ex- 
plain my mistakes and correct my errors. From 
the commencement of the present unhappy dis- 
pute I considered the shedding of blood, if that 
event should take place, as the sera, at which would 



188 

terminate the British empire in America ; or the 
colonies be subjugated to the absolute domina- 
tion of parliament ; and wlien hostilities commen- 
ced, my mind was only agitated with the means of 
defending ourselves, and forming a constitution 
which would secure substantial liberty to the peo- 
ple ; but when I found the Congress entertained 
different views, that they had again petitioned the 
king for reconciliation, and declared to their fel- 
low subjects throughout the empire, that their on- 
ly end in taking up arms was to procure a redress 
of grievances and secure their property and con- 
stitutional right, solemnly disclaiming every 
idea of establishing an independent empire, it gave 
a different turn to my thoughts. I reflected that 
our ancestors have fought many battles, and shed 
torrents of blood in support of their constitution- 
al rights, and whatever may have been the fate of 
arbitrary princes, the constitution was ever held 
sacred, the instance of Charles's reign only ex- 
cepted. The Whigs were then obhged to join 
with the Tories, in restoring royalty in its lustre 
to get rid of a phantom which the Independents 
had raised under the name of liberty. The hope 
of a re-union with our brethren of Great Britain, 
and of the increasing grandeur and prosperity of 
the whole empire to me, I confess, had something 
agreeable in it. I therefore with eagerness inves- 
tigated the proposed plan of operations, to enable 
me to judge of the probable event, and I found, 
or thought I found, the security of our liberties, 
in connection with Great Britain almost certainly 
attainable ; at any rate more practicable than the 
establishing an independent state j for the follow- 
ing among other reasons, that the people of Ame- 
rica were determinately united in support of that 
measure ; that every insult and injury from admin- 



189 

istration only tended to animate and cement ; that 
the greatest trading cities and most respectable 
characters in England are our friends ; that even 
our enemies in parliament dare not stand the attack 
on the proper ground ; but, in order to carry their 
point, have always insisted we were aiming at in- 
dependency. That the belief of this is the sole 
reason we have any enemies among the people of 
England, and though T am of opinion, the govern- 
ing powers of Britain would rather lose the colo- 
nies totally, than yield one iota of their preten- 
sions, the people will think very differently when 
convinced our views extend no further than to the 
security of those rights, which they themselves 
hold essential to liberty. That it would be impos- 
sible for government to carry on a war against the 
inclinations, and so destructive to the interests of 
the people, as the present must obviously appear, 
when it is remembered, the cause of our contest 
is the assumed power of parliament, to tax the 
colonies, to alter our forms of government, to 
transport us to Britain for the trial of supposed 
offences, and to make laws regulating our internal 
police. That the sword would even drop from 
the hand of a British soldier, if he believed it poin- 
ted against the breast of a man contending for his 
birth -right. That an attempt to establish an in- 
dependency would unite England as one man 
against us ; and though she is burdened with an 
enormous debt, and deprived of a most valuable 
branch of commerce, she has still great resources ; 
and it is not easy to foresee the consequences of 
the utmost exertions of her powers. Besides, it 
appears to be the interest of Europe, that Ameri- 
ca should remain dependent. The power and 
importance of England, which by a defection of 
the colonies, she would lose, is necessary in the Ea- 



190 

ropean system. Holland and Portugal, I think, owe 
their political existence to her; and even those states 
which might wish to see her depressed, were their in- 
terests confined to Europe, would dread greater evils 
from the establishment of an independent empire in 
North America, the certain consequences of which 
would be, I apprehend, the loss of iviexico, South 
America, and the West India islands to whomso- 
ever belonging. But it is a necessary enquiry, on 
what terms can our difterences be adjusted which 
will secure us from luture contests? 1 answer, it is 
impossible. The nature of human affairs is such, 
that no political system can be established which the 
folly of weak, or ambition of wicked men will not 
in time subvert. Let Great Britain relinquish her 
claim of internal legislation and taxation ; let sta- 
ted times be limited for the holding and duration 
of assemblies, and counsellors dependent on the 
Crown, be deprived of legislative powers, or hold 
their places during life; and let supreme judges be 
appointed in each colony, to hold their places du- 
ring good behaviour, with certain and adequate 
salaries. All this would be no real injury to Eng- 
land, the only advantage she ever did, or ever can 
receive from America is her commerce, an equi- 
table share of which, ought to be secured to her 
by a grand commercial system, to be agreed on by 
the legislators of the two countries, and to remain 
unalterable, except by mutual consent. Such a 
plan of accommodation I think, offers as fair for 
the permamerit security of peace, weultl), and liberty , 
as any I have heard, or can devise for tlie govern- 
ment of America in an independent state. I take 
it for granted, as I have never heard it disputed, 
that a popular or democratic government must take 
place, which in its most perfect state, I think 
mucli inferior to the mixed government of Bri- 



191 

tain ; for I hold it as a maxim that ^vherever the 
supreme power is vested in one man, or one body 
of men, the Uberty of the subject is at best pre- 
carious. It appears from iiistory, that popular 
fury is as formidable, and often exercised with as 
mucli injustice as royal indignation. Frequent 
elections are no security in this case, the spirit of 
the people always influences the representative 
body, and if a man becomes unpopular, however 
innocent, his ruin is inevitable. To you I need 
not give instances ; neither i* it possible in such a 
constitution, to render the judicial powers totally 
independent. The same body of men who have 
the appointment of the judges, having also the 
power of removing them, will carry popular pre- 
judice even to the seats of justice. In this respect, 
England has the advantage of all other nations. 
In cool dispassionate hours, the three branches of 
the legislature concur in enacting laws for the 
general good of the community. The meanest 
subject cannot be punished unless he transgresses 
those laws, neither can the judges be displaced for 
faithfully executing them, without the like concur- 
rence. This protects individuals equally from 
popular violence, and the arbitrary measures of 
kings and courtiers. But is America capable of 
receiving a democratic government? Have we 
that industry, frugality, oeconomy, that virtue 
which is necessary to constitute it ? Laws and 
constitutions must be adapted to the manners of 
the people ; they do not, they camiot form them. 
Whenever the manners change, the laws change 
with them, or lose their force. Is not North Ame- 
rica too extensive for a popular government ? But 
I fii id the spirit of the times is against u union ; 
we must then become a confederacy of republics, 
each having supreme powers within itself. Does 



192 

not this afford a prospect of perpetual wars and in- 
ternal feuds, tili some one colony, or perhaps one 
man, becomes master of the whole continent ? Re- 
cur to the historic page, and point out the age and 
country where this, under similar circumstances, 
has not been the case ? The united provinces be- 
ing surrounded by more powerful states, material- 
ly distinguishes their situation from that of these 
colonies. A Congress or general council for re- 
gulating the affairs of the whole confederacy will 
hardly be sufficient to maintain peace. There was 
a general council of die English heptarchy, yet 
that island was an uninterrupted scene of blood 
and slaughter, till united under one head. There 
is a general diet of the German empire, yet every 
one knows ihat the princes of the empire submit 
to its decrees, just as far as suits their own purpo- 
ses. Greece had her Amphictyons, yet was not 
without intestine wars. 

The country being called to arms forthe express 
purpose ot defending and securing her constitu- 
tional liberty, is there not an inconsistency in em- 
ploying those arms to quite different purposes, at 
least till it is known whether the original end be 
attainable ? and surely the most sanguine could 
not expect that point so soon determined ? Or that 
we could force England to a compliance with our 
terms in the courst- of one campaign. 

An apology might well be expected for this 
trouble ; if I had a good one to offer, you should 
have it. Some slight touches on the subject with 
several expressions of regard interspersed through 
your letters of business, emboldened me to take 
this liberty, and further, to request an answer. 

I am one of those who have ever wished and 
gloried in the honour and prosperity of the British 
empire ; but if a separation takes place, interest, 



193 

indiiiation, every consideration will induce me to 
take part with my native land, and my best endea- 
vours shall not be wanting to render the Americans 
a free, happy, and independent people. Any lights 
which you may throw on the subject, shall be faith- 
fully improved to that purpose, as far as my nar- 
row sphere, (and it is a very narro^v one,) permits. 
The arguments of pamplileteers, and ncwspa})er 
scribblers, on both sides of the question, have 
been so absurd, fallacious, or at least superficial, 
that very little instruction or pleasure, con id be de- 
rived from reading them. ■ Heartily wishing you 
success in every patriotic exertion of your abili- 
ties, I remain with esteem, Sir, 

Your very humble servant, 

ALEX. WHITE. 
Major Gen. Lee. 

SluO-'ord, Feb. 5lh, 17T6. 
Sir, 

Immediately after I had waited upon you at 
Philadelphia, I proceeded to New- York, and find- 
ing much difficulty in pursuing my intended 
journey, I delivered your dispatches to Mr. Lewis, 
by direction of Mr. Van B. Livingston, and wrote 
to you at my return, acquainting you therewith. 
I have not wrote to you so frequently as I would 
do, imagining that your time might be employed 
better, in matters of greater moment, to the pub- 
lic ; and where public utility is in question, apo- 
logies become unnecessary ; be pleased therefore 
to accept the following hints from one who has 
seen service. I am amazed at a ship or two laying 
at New- York for some time past ; I never saw two 
vessels that lay in more danger were they attacked 
and they also know it. The Asia lay long in the 
North River, and refused to go into the sound 

R 



194 

until Parker, a senior captain, was sent with a 
ship to reinforce him, with positive orders from 
the admiral to join; it may also be seen by their 
writing to the mayor, and by Parker's threatening 
and bullying the town. There are three ways of 
taking or destroying these ships, could it be kept 
secret : First, by boarding ; for as the Asia must 
ground at low water, the springs upon cables 
Avould be of no use ; and, I apprehend, that her 
lower guns could not range over the wharf when 
aground, therefore a few guns with grape shot run 
down upon the wharfs, upon her bow and quar- 
ters, would effectually sweep and clear her decks, 
while the people boarded. Secondly, if there were 
mortars or even guns to throw combustible mat- 
ter on the decks, into the rigging, to stick on her 
sides, with grape as before, to prevent extinguish- 
ment, the guns with the grape would be out of 
the power of her guns while aground. The third 
and best m.ethod, as I imagine, i would under- 
take myself, with a reasonable person to command 
the detachment, as second in command, or engi- 
neer, or conductor of the works, or, as I told you,,^ 
in any character, so that I might be serviceable 
to the cause. 

The method I will here lay down to the best of 
my ability; there is Long Island and Nutten Island, 
well situated to place guns; and, I imagine, three 
or four hundred men would be sufficient to com- 
pleat in one night all the necessary works : The 
greatest difficulty would be, to get cannon to Nu^ 
ten Island, but they might come from the Narrows 
by night in flats. It would be impossible to point 
out either the facilities, or difficulties of the under- 
taking in the course of a letter ; the greatest diffi- 
culty will be, to keep it secret from the people of 
Staten Island, Long Island, and New-York. If 



195 

this matter is not soon put in execution, they will 
be reinforced, or they will fall into th^ North 
River ; but if there was lodgment with some guns 
upon Nutten Island, with the town battery to assist, 
they could not get out without running aground. 
As soon as the batteries upon Long Island begin 
to play, there should be some of the Connecticut 
men, or some others, ready to run down upon the 
wharfs, with some few guns a- head and a- stern, 
with grape, to clear the decks, and fire into the 
ports. While loading, the batteries will have 
this advantage, that they can play by night, if 
clear; this method will soharrass and disable them, 
that they must strike quickly or they will be boar- 
ded. When this affair is finished the men should 
immediately march to the Narrows, and erect a 
battery that would keep all out, and all in ; twen- 
ty guns properly disposed, \vould sink any vessel 
that would dare attempt to go up, and would be 
out of the range of all shot from the shipping. 
Your cruisers would find shelter and a good har- 
bour. Had this been done last summer, our en- 
emies at Boston would have starved before now. 
There should be a camp formed there early in the 
spring, and two strong forts erected with retrench- 
ments to cover them ; for you may depend upon 
it, there will be a rigorous push made early to get 
up the North River ; works upon each side would 
greatly retard and delay their operations ; and I 
doubt not, but defeat the design of the campaign. 
To attack both, they must divide their army, 
which would greatly harrass them ; and if they 
Wait to attack them one after another, the campaign 
is lost, besides the attacks made upon them at lan- 
ding within the vicinity, and perhaps under cover 
of these forts and retrenchments ; also tlie attacks 
on their rear, while they are attacking the works. 



196 

In short, we have every thing in our favour, to de- 
feat the ensuing campaign, if we only begin in 
time, and conduct matters properly. 

You want nothing but experienced officers five 
hundred at least. But to return to the men of war, 
that I find so much intimidates the people of this 
coimtry, is a well constructed floating battery, for- 
midable and powerful in her own element at sea, 
no doubt ; but when opposed to the land, is only 
an egg-shell. Batteries and guns properly placed 
will soon silence them. I will here describe as well 
as I can, the batteries of late made use of against 
shipping ; the old batteries in our ports and har- 
bours at home are found almost useless. As they 
are all built similar or like that at New- York, very- 
low and near the water, whereby the vessel has 
all the power over them that she could wish, not 
only from her great guns, but small arms ; where- 
as, quite the reverse ought to be the case ; the 
batteries should be fixed at a distance from the 
water and vessel, no nearer than two hundred yards 
if the ground will admit, from the channel, or 
where the vessel is to anchor or sail, and upon 
ground high enough to be out of the range of her 
shot, if such ground cannot be found, take the 
highest, you can get and sink, or let in your plat- 
forms and guns upon the top or summit of the 
hill, the muzzles of the guns as it were, peeping 
out of the hill. Thus the men will work their 
guns when thus situated with facility and safety^ 
and out of the reach of all shot. There is no 
ship in the world that would dare offer to attack 
or pass such a battery, if twenty guns were moun- 
ted. These are the kind of batteries that I would 
propose for all attacks upon vessels, and what I 
would make use of, upon Long Island and Nut- 
ten Island, and though the land is not so high as 



197 

may be wished, yet the sinking and letting in the 
guns into the firm and highest ground will answer 
the purpose no doubt : ships fire very slow, and 
fire at random, neither can it be imagined that men 
can stand to their guns, where shot and splinters 
are continually flying, much less level and point 
guns accurately. In short, they must do as the 
French did on board of four sail of the line at 
Louisburg, inashort time they must strike or jump 
into the hold notwithstanding we never had more 
than two-guns playing upon any ship at a time. 
Twelve guns would be sufficient, six upon Long 
Island and six upon Nutten Island, and twelve 
pounders would be heavy enough as the distance 
is but short, and less than three pound of powder 
would be sufficient for a charge. There ought to 
be two men to each gun that understand loading 
and firing, the rest may be raw. I would imagine 
that Lord Sterling would be a very proper person 
to command the detachment, and would readily ac- 
cept it. I make no doubt, the troops might keep 
moving, some at the Narrows, some at the Ferry 
at York, some even might go to Jamaica, Flat 
Blush, &c. until guns and other matters ai'e in rea- 
diness. The commanding officer and engineer at 
the Ferry, off and on, to reconnoitre the ground, 
and view the position of the vessels. I have here 
thrown a few matters together, in a rough manner ; 
however, I shall not needlessly make any apology 
for troubling you, as the intention is good. I can 
assure you, that these hints, as I call them, are no 
whim, or production of my own, but are draivn 
from real practice and experience which I have of- 
ten seen and helped to execute in rivers, lakes, and 
harbours, during twenty- eight years service. I 
cannot dismiss the Narrows, the enemy should not 
he allowed to slip into the heart of the country, 

R 2 



198 

without gaining it by inches : the Narrows arc 
centrical and the people thereabouts disposed to 
be troublesome ; it is a most desirable situation 
for an army, as they can act either to the eastward, 
or westward together, or separate, and supplies 
can come from all quarters either by land or water. 
A battery placed as before mentioned has great 
povi^er and command of shipping , one shot fired 
in this angular manner from an eminence, will do 
more execution than twenty fired horizontally ; for 
if the shot strike the vessel on one side, between 
^vindand water, they will come out on the other side 
some feet below water; in short, their powder- room 
and all is in danger, nor will the men's lying flat upon 
the decks screen them. I have had experience of 
this, acting as a marine officer on board men of 
war. You want, as I have said before experi- 
enced ofiicers, who have explored the country, 
rivers, lakes, difficult passes ; in short, that know 
every inch of ground, that have drubbed, and 
been drubbed ; for drubbing brings men to rea- 
son and reflection. I beg yOu would offer my ser- 
vices to the honourable the Congress, as one that 
has scon service both in horse, foot, and marines. 
There is not an officer in America this day has 
seen more service than I have, both abroad and at 
home during both the late wars. Nothing would 
prevail with me to engage again, but the present 
cause : my all is now at stake, the die is thrown : 
I must conquer or die. 

I am, Sir, most respectfully 

Your most humble and most 
Obedient Servant, 

TREVOR NEWLAND. 

Major Gen. Lee. 



199 

Philadelphia, Feb. iith, 17T3. 
Dear Sib, 

A HE bearer, Mons. Arundel, is directed by the 
Congress to repair to General Schuyler, in order 
to be employed by him in the Artillery service. 
He proposes to wait on you in his way, and has 
requested me to intrduce hi in by a line to you. 
He has been an officer in the French service, as 
you will see by his commissions ; and professing 
a good-will to our cause, I hope he may be useful 
in instructing our gunners and mattrosses : per- 
haps he may advise in opening the nailed can- 
non. 

I received the enclosed, the other day, from an 
officer, Mr» Newland, who served in the two last 
wars and was known by General Gates, who spoke 
well of him to me when I was at Cambridge. He 
is desirous now of entering into your service. 
I have advised him to wait upon you at New- 
York. 

They still talk big in England, and threaten 
hard ; but their language is somewhat civiller, at 
least not quite so disrespecful to us. By degrees 
they come to their senses, but too late, I fancy for 
their interest. 

We have got a large quantity of salt-petre, one 
hundred and twenty ton, and thirty more expected 
Powder-mills are now wanting ; I believe we 
must set to work and make it by hand. But I still 
wish, with you, that pikes could be introduced, 
and I would add bows and arrows : these were 
good weapons, not wisely laid aside : 

1st. Because a man may shoot as truly with a 
bow as with a common musket. 

2d. He can discharge four arrows in the time 
of charging and discharging one bullet. 



200 

3d, His object is not taken from his view by the 
smoke of his own side. 

4th. A flight of arrows seen coming upon them 
terrifies and disturbs the enemies^ attention to his 
business. 

5th. An arrow striking in any part of a man 
puts him hors clu combat till it is extracted. 

6th. Bov. s and arrows are more easily provided 
every where than muskets and ammunition, 

Polydore Virgil, speaking of one of our battles 
against the French in Edward the Third's reign, 
mentions the great confusion the enemy was 
thrown into, sagittanim ?mbe, from the English ; 
and concludes, Est res profecto dictu mirables, ut 
tantiis ac potens exercitus a solis fere Anglicis sa- 
gittariis victus fuerit ; adeo Anglus est sagitti 
potens, et id genus armorum valet. If so much 
execution was done by arrows when men wore 
some defensive armour, how much more might 
be done now that is out of use ! 

I am glad you are come to New- York, but I 
also wish you could" be in Canada. There is a 
kind of suspense in men's minds here at present, 
waiting to see wliat terms will be offered from 
England. I expect none that we can accept ; and 
when that is senerallv seen, we shall be more una- 
nimous and more decisive : then your proposed 
solemn league and covenant will go better down, 
and perhaps most of your other strong measures 
adopted. 

I am always glad to hear from you, but I do not 
deserve your favours, being so bad a correspond- 
ent. My eyes will now hardly serve me to v/rite 
by night, and these short days >have been all 
taken up by such a variety of business, that I 



^201 

seldom can sit down ten minutes without interrup- 
tion. — God give you success. 

I am, with the greatest esteem, 

Yours aft'ectionately, 

B. FRANKLIN. 
Major Gen. Lee. 

PldlaJclpIua, Feb. i9th, 1796. 
My Dear Sir, 

The Congress have seen such a necessity of ail 
able commander in Canada, as to destine you to 
that most arduous service. I tremble for your 
health, yetlhope the campaign will rather promote 
it than otherwise. We want you at New- York ; 
we want you at Cambridge ; we want you in Vir- 
ginia ; but Canada seems of more importance 
than any of those places, and therefore you are 
sent there. I wish you as many laurels as Wolfe 
and Montgomery reaped there, with an hap- 
pier fate. Health and long life after a glorious 
return. 

But I am ashamed to go on in such a strain 
when writing to you whose time is so much better 
employed than in reading it, since I took up my 
pen only to introduce to your acquaintance a 
countryman of yours, and a citizen of the world, 
to whom a certain heretical pamphlet, called Co?7j- 
mon Sense, is imputed. His name is Paine. He 
is travelling to New- York for his curiosity, and 
wishes to see a gentleman whose character he so 
highly respects. ^ 

A luckier, a happier expedition than yours to 
New- York never was projected. The v»'hole Whig 
world are blessing you for it, and none of them 
more than, 

Your friend and" servant, 

JOHN ADAMS. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



Sir, 



202 

PliUaddphia, Feb. i9lh; 17T6. 



X HAVE the honour to inclose you sundry re- 
solutions of Congress, by which you will perceive, 
it is the desire of Congress, that you should repair 
to Canada, and take upon you the command of 
the army of the United Colonies in that pro- 
vince. I need not mention the importance of the 
trust reposed in you, and the happ}^ effects it will 
have in securing the liberty of America, if you 
should be so fortunate as to drive our enemies, the 
enemies of liberty and the rights of mankind 
out of it. I heartily pray that the Disposer of 
Events may grant you success equal to your merit 
and zeal. 

As you will want battering cannon, which are 
not to be had in that province, you are to apply 
to the Convention, or Committee of Safety of 
New- York ; to whom, by this opportunity, I send 
the recommendation of Congress to supply you 
with twelve, such as you shall judge most suita- 
ble, and some mortars, if they have or can procure 
them ; with balls, shells, and other necessaries ; 
and also to assist you in forwarding them. Eight 
tons of powder are now on their way to Albany, 
for the forces in Canada; and as a very consider- 
able quantity of saltpetre is sent to the mills of 
Mr. Wisner and Mr. Livingstone, should there be 
occasion for more, you will be supplied from 
thence.* 

You will readily perceive the necessity of con- 
ferring with General Schuyler, and with him con- 
sulting on the best methods of having necessaries 
conveyed to you across the lakes. The Congress 
have a full confidence that you will co-operate in 
securing the possession of the lakes, and mutually 



203 

assisting each other as occasion may require; and, 
r.s far as in your power, give mutual aid in sup- 
porting the cause of freedom and liberty. I expect 
the deputies will in a short time be ready to pro- 
ceed to Canada. 

I am, with every sentiment of esteem, 
Sir, 
Your most obedient, 

Humble servant, 
JOHN HANCOCK, Pres. 
Hon. Major Gen. Lee. 



Philadelphia, March ist, 1TT6. 
Dear Sir, 

After a warm contest, occasioned by the high 
estimation the members of Congress have of your 
worth and abilities, every one wishing to have 
you where he had most at stake, the Congress 
have at length determined to supercede the orders 
given you to proceed to Canada, and have this 
day come to a resolution that you shall take the 
command of the continental forces in the southern 
department which comprehends Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

The Congress have also appointed six new bri- 
gadier Generals ; viz. John Armstrong, William 
Thompson, Andrew Lewis, James Moore, Lord 
Sterling, and Robert How, Esq. four of whom 
you are to command in the southern department, 
and two in the middle. By this conveyance I 
have forwarded the commission for his Lordship. 
As soon as your health and the necessary orders 
you may think proper to give for putting New- 
York in a state of defence, will permit, I have it 
in charge to direct that you repair to the depart- 
ment put under your immediate command'. 



204 

In expectation of seeing you soon in this place, 
on your way, I need not add, but that, I am, with 
every sentiment of regard and esteem, 
Sir, 
Your most obedient servant, 

JOHN HANCOCK, Pres. 
Hon. Major Gen. Lee. 
New-York. 



Head-qnar'.crs, Flu. £6//t, 17T6. 
Dear General, 

J.iAST night I had the pleasure to receive yours 
of the 15th. I am rejoiced you have weathered 
this fit of the gout ; I don't think you will have 
another this winter, if you was careful in letting 
that pass off; it may probably be of much service 
to your constitution. When I mentioned Canada, 
I did not mean you should winter there ; if you 
can secure the entrance into it, by getting Quebec, 
and possessing it this summer, you may leave the 
care of that province to your Brigadiers for the 
winter to come. The General was pleased you 
wrote to him, as he began to think you tardy. 
He writes to you by this express. I like your in- 
tention of making the fort an open redoubt : I 
thhik some heavy guns upon the south and west 
sides, with good sod merlons, will make tlie men 
of war keep aloof. It is a pretty high situation, 
and battering it at a distance, over the lower bat- 
teries, \\ould have but little effect. We have 
lately had reason to suppose Mr. Howe had 
thoughts of leaving Boston ; the General will tell 
you his reasons for thinking that was intended. 
Clinton, I am satisfied, went to see how affairs 
were circumstanced at New- York, to consult with 
Tryon, and to prepare tlie way for Howe's recep- 



205 

tion. Unless the enemy repossess Canada, they 
cannot reinstate the king's aftairs on this conti- 
nent ; there is no way to recover Canada, but 
by the Rivers of St. Laurence and Hudson. The 
St. Laurence is not practicable until late in May ; 
therefore, the first attempt would mostassuredly be 
made at New- York: for these reasons, I think 
your hands should be strengthened as much, and 
as expeditiously as possible. I am afraid you are 
deficient in gun-carriages ; employ all the hands 
you can procure to make them. I am glad you 
express yourself so well pleased with the captains, 
Smith and Badlam ; the former has good talents, 
and will, I hope, prove as faithful as he is capable. 
Ere long it will be known, if I am right in my 
conjecture, that the great body of the enemy mean, 
to endeavour to take post at, or near, New- York. 
Should that happen to be attempted, be assured 
we shall march with the utmost expedition to sup- 
port you, I expect soon to see Palfrey, in con- 
sequence of what I wrote to him, when I hope to 
hear you are in perfect health. Little Eustace is 
well, but nothing is done for him as yet. You 
know the more than Scotch partiality of these 
folks. I ha\'e had much to do to support the lad 
you put into Colonel Whitcomb's regiment. They 
have no complaint in nature against him, but 
that he is too good an officer. What, in the 
name of reason, can Hite have trumpedup, to com- 
mence a suit in Chancery upon ? Mrs. Gates and 
I have puzzled our brains to find it out. The in- 
closed I desire you will order to be immediately 
delivered to the postmaster. Mrs. Gates joi«s me 
in every good wish for your health and success. 
I am ever affectionately, yours, 

HORATIO GATES. 
Majqr Gen. Lee. 



206 

Phikdelphia, Feb.i9th, 1770, 
Dear Sir, 

A REJOICE that you are going to Canada. I 
hope the gout will not have the courage to follow 
you into that severe climate. I believe you will 
have the number of men you wish for. I am told 
there will be two thousand more, but there are al- 
ways deficiencies. 

The bearer, Mr. Paine, has requested a line of 
introduction to you, which I give the more wil- 
lingly, asl know his sentiments are not very differ- 
ent from yours : he is the reputed, and, I think, 
the real author of Common Setise, a pamphlet that 
has made great impression here. I do not enlarge, 
both because he \vaits, and because I hope for the 
pleasure of conferring with you face to face in Ca- 
nada. I will only add, that we are assured here on 
the part of France, that the troops sent to the 
West- Indies have no inimical views to us or our 
cause. It is thought they intend a war without a 
previous declaration. 

God prosper all your undertakings, and return 
you with health, honour, and happiness. 
Yours most affectionately, 

B. FRANKLIN. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



Philadelphia, July 2£rf, 1776. 
Sir, 

JL OUR favour of the 2d instant, containing the 
very agreeable intelligence of the success of the 
Atnerican army under your command, I had the 
honour of receiving, and immediately laid the same 
before Congress. 

The same enlarged mind, and distinguished ar- 
dour in the cause of freedom, that taught you to 



207 

despise the prejudices which have enslaved the 
bulk of mankind, when you nobly undertook the 
defence of American liberty, will entitle you to 
receive from posterity the same due to such exal- 
ted and disinterested conduct. 

That a handful of men, without the advantage 
of militaiy experience, animated only with the sa- 
cred love of liberty, should repulse a powerful 
fleet and army, are circumstances that must excite 
gratitude and wonder in the friends of America, 
and prove a source of the most mortifying disap- 
pointment to our enemies. 

Accept, therefore, Sir, the thaniks of the Ii^e- 
pendent States of America, unanimously declared 
by their delegates to be due to you and the brav« 
officers and troops under your command, who re- 
pulsed with so much valour the attack that was 
made on the state of South Carolina, on the 28th 
of June, by the fleet and army of his Britannic 
Majesty ; and be pleased to communicate to them 
this distinguished mark of the approbation of their 
country. 
I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, 
Sir, your most obedient, 

And very humble servant, 
JOHT>J HANCOCK, Fre«. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



l^if-FoWs, Afttj/, 1770. 
My DEAiR Lee, 

jL OUR favour of the 5th ult. from Williamsburg, 
the first I have received from you since you left this 
city, came to my hands by the last post. I thank 
you for your kind congratulations on our posses- 
sion of Boston. I thank you for your good wish- 



208 

es in our future operations, and hope that every 
diabolical attempt to deprive mankind of their 
inherent rights and privilges, vi^hether made in the 
east, west, north, or south, will be attended 
with disappointment and disgrace, and that the au- 
thors in the end v/illbe bi oughtto such punishment, 
as an injured people have a right to inflict. 

General Howe's retreat from Boston was preci- 
pitate, beyond any thing I could have conceived. 
The destruction of the stores at Dunbar's camp 
after Braddock's defeat was but a faint image of 
what was seen at Boston ; artillery carts cut to 
pieces in one place ; gun carriages in another i 
shells broke here ; shot buried ther^, and every- 
thing carrying with it the face of disorder and 
confusion, as also of distress. 

Immediately upon their embarkation, I detach- 
ed a brigade of five regiments to this city, and 
upon their sailing, removed with I'he whole 
army hither, except four regiments at Boston, 
and one at Beverley, &c. for the protection 
of those places, the stores and barracks there, 
and for erecting works for defending the harbour 
of the first. Immediately upon my arrival here I 
detached four regiments by order of Congress to 
Canada, (to wli, Foors, I'atterson's, Treaton's and 
Bond's) under the command of BrigadierThomp- 
son, and since that, by the same authority, and in 
consequence of some unfavourable accounts from 
that quarter, General Sullivan and six other regi- 
ments, namely, Starke's Reed's Wain's Irvine's, 
Wind's and Dayton's have moved off for that de- 
partment ; the four last regiments are of Pennsyl- 
vania and New-Jersey. The first brigade arrived 
at Albany the twenty-fourth ultimo, and were mo- 
ving oUj when accounts came from thence the 
twenty.^eventh. The other brigade must all be 



2G9 

at Albany before this, as some of the regiments 
sailed ten days ago, and the last four, and the winds 
very favourable. This has left us very wc^fk at 
this place, whilst I have my fears that the rein- 
forcement will scarce get to Canada in time, for 
want of teams to transport the troops. Sec. to 
Fort George, and vessels to convey them on after- 
wards. 

We have done a great deal of work at this 
place. In a fortnight more, I think the city will 
be in a very respectable state of defence. Gov- 
ernor's Island has a large and strong work erected, 
and a regiment encamped there. The point be- 
low, called Red Hook, has a small, but exceeding 
strong barbet battery ; and several new works arc 
constructed, and many of them almost executed 
atotlier places. 

General Ward, upon the evacuation of Boston, 
and finding that there was a probability of his re- 
moving from the smoke of his own chimney, ap- 
plied to me, and wrote to Congress for leave to re- 
sign, A few days afterwards, some of the officers, 
as he says, getting uneasy at the prospect of his 
leaving them, he applied for his letter of resigna- 
tion, whioh had been committed to my care ; but, 
behold ! it had been carefully forwarded to Con- 
gress, and as I have since learnt, judged so reason- 
able, [want of health being the plea,) that it was 
instantly complied with. Brigadier Fry, previous 
to this, also conceiving that there was nothing en- 
tertaining or profitable to an old man, to be march- 
ing and counter-marching, desired, immediate- 
ly on the evacuation of Boston, (which happened 
on the 17th of March,) that he might resign his 
commission on the llth of April: the choice of 
the day became a matter of great speculation, and 
remained profoundly mysterious till he exhibited 
s 2 



210 

his account, when there appeared neither more nor 
less in it, than the completion of three calender 
months ; the pay of which he received without 
any kind of compunction, although he had never 
done one tour of duty, or, I believe, had ever been 
out of his house from the time he entered till he 
quitted Cambridge. 

So much for two Generals : I have next to in- 
form you that the Pay-master-general, Colonel 
Warren, not finding it convenient to attend the 
army, from the various employments and avoca- 
tions in which he was engaged, also resigned his 
commission, and is succeeded by your old aid,. 
Palfrey. 

When I was speaking of the distressed situation 
of the king's troops, and the tories, at their eva- 
cuation of Boston, I might have gone on., and ad- 
ded, that their misfortunes did not end here. It 
seems upon their arrival at Halifax, many of the 
former were obliged to encamp, although the 
ground was covered deep with snow ; and the lat- 
ter, to pay six dollars a-week fpr sorry upper- 
rooms, and stow in them, men, women, and chil- 
dren, as thick comparatively, as the hair upon their 
heads. This induced many of these gentry to 
return, and throw themselves upon the mercy and 
clemency of their countrymen, who were for send- 
ing them immediately back, as the properest and 
severest punishment they could inflict ; but death 
being preferred to this, they now wait in confine- 
ment, any other that may be thought due to such 
pai'ricides. 

All the ships of war have left this place, and 
gone down to the Hook, except the Asia, which 
lays five miles below the Narrows, and about twelve 
or fourteen from hence. I could have added more, 
but my paper will not admit of it. With compli- 



211 

ment, therefore, to the gentlemen of my acquain- 
tance with you, and with the most fervent wishes 
for your health and success, 
I remain, 

Your most affectionate, 

G. WASHINGTON. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



Tyaquin, North Carolina, June. ll//j, ITTG. 
Sir, 

AhIS moment yours of the 1st instant came to 
my hand. The note inclosed, directed to the com- 
manding officer of the corps of Virginia forces^ 
intended for the station of Hillsborough, I will 
use my best endeavour to transmit so soon as I 
can learn who he is, or for what part of Virginia 
they are ordered ; of both I am now entirely un- 
informed, having heard nothing of such destina- 
tion until I received your letter. If I can get no 
information in my neighbourhood, I will send 
your note to the commanding officer of Halifax or 
Mecklinburgh county ; which, lying contiguous 
to this, are most likelv to have received orders to 
march hither. 

I cannot say. Sir, that I rejoice that the enemy 
have abandoned their design on this colony. 
Their force could not have effi^cted much against 
us, but they may prove troublesome to some of 
our southern neighbours, who are probably not 
so well provided for defence as we are. 

I beg leave, Sir, to vvish you all possible success 
in your generous effiarts for the defence of the un- 
doubted rights of mankind. Had the scene of ac- 
tion been where we first expected, I intended to 
have put myselfa volunteer under your command, 
and to have contributed my little assistance to- 



212 

wards that success which I am assured would hav^ 
attended your command. Remote as the sceiie 
may be, I shall not bear absence from it ^v•ilh 
much patience ; and were it not almost ruin to my 
private affairs, no campaign should pass without 
receiving the little assistance I could personally 
give ; for though I am no military character, nor 
ambitous of such distinction, the cause in which 
we are now engaged, and in which I have unremit- 
tingly struggled since the stamp act, makes me 
anxious to be a witness and an actor, however in- 
considerable, in every scene of importance whether 
military or civil, which may relate to it. 

I have the honour to be, with singular respect, 
Sii', your obedient servant, 

THOMAS BURKE. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



PhUadetphia, June i7th, 1778. 
Dear Sir, 

I HEARTILY thank you for your letter, and 
regret that I cannot have the pleasure of meeting 
you ; the great wish of my life is to see peace be- 
tween two countries I almost equally love, while 
it is a question whether this or an inexterminable 
war is to take place. I meant in words I had 
learnt from you, to set before you the many and 
mutual advantages both would derive from an 
agreement : and as the terms now offered are more 
for the interest of your favourite America than 
you ever hoped to obtain, I should have made no 
scruple to ask your good offices, and to engage 
my own, to remove any obstacles that might ob- 
struct the peace. 

I sliould think it a greater honour to contribute 
in the smallest degree to this, than to have ihe 



213 

greatest share in bringing about victory : these, to 
a thinking man like you, who has many friends 
on both sides, subject him to a double regret. 

I may not find another occasion of meeting you 
easily, but I would travel far to have the pleasure 
of embracing you, as a fellow subject of the same 
empire, and a friend. You will see by some 
speeches in the House of Commons, that others 
whom you value have the same wish. A celebra- 
ted poem, just published, says, 

" By virtue, captive Lee is doubly blest," 

A pamphlet wrote by Governor Johnstone's 
brother is much applauded by the nation, where a 
spirit prevails like that between tender relations 
who are more disposed to love and respect, after 
a quarrel has convinced both, of the advantage 
and value of friendship. I send you the pamphlet. 

You do Sir H. Clinton great justice in believ- 
ing him incapable of an inhuman or illiberal mea- 
sure ; you may, with great confidence, assert, that 
he^had no share in the havock you say has embit- 
tered peoples' minds to a degree of madness. 
Your letter to me is the only notice he has of the 
burnings you mention. If any other houses be- 
sides magazines were destroyed, it must have been 
by the wantonness of soldiers ; as the officer who 
formed the plan for destroying the preparations 
for the invasion of the island, confined it to this 
object. The destruction of houses was no part 
of his project ; otherwise he would have mention- 
ed the success of it, which he has not done. I 
will deliver the messages you give me, and will 
ever seek every occasion to shew that I am with 
regard. 

Dear Sir, your most affectionate friend, and 
humble servant, GEO. JOHNSON. 



214 

P. S. Sir Henry Clinton bids me tiaank you for 
your letter, and charges me to enclose one he has 
received for you, from England- 
Major Gen. Lee. 



OJ Charlts-Toim Bar, July 22, 1716. 
Sir, 

UN my return to the fleet, I found a letter front 
you by a flag of truce, with some refreshments you 
were pleased to send me, in return for which I 
must beg your acceptance of a cask of porter, and 
some English cheese. 

I have made enquiries concerning the person 
mentioned in your letter, who, it seems, has occa- 
sioned this correspondence between us, but can 
learn nothing further about him, than that he is 
not a master of a vessel, as he has represented 
himself to you ; and you will have been already 
informed by Mr. Byrd that Ethan Allen, and 
those that were with them, are gone to the North- 
ward. 

I am, Sir, 

Yuui" moat }vumKlf» servant, 
H. CLINTON, 
To 
Chtirles Lee, Esq. '^ 

Major General in the service 
of his Polish Majesty. 



Williamnlnirg, July i^th, 1776. 
My Dear GeneraI/, 

JL OUR kind concern for my health made me 
happy, and the high approbation you ex!:ress of 
my public conduct highly gratified my pride. I 
had the pleasure of receiving your letter which did 



215 

me so much honour, about the 9th of last month. 
I was then at Mr. Harrison's near Petersburg, 
where I had gone with Mrs. Page for the recovery 
of her health. Our trip happily has answered our 
wishes, and we are once more fixed at W^illiams- 
burg. It is now four weeks since we have re- 
ceived any certain accoinit of the situation of af- 
fairs in either of the Carolinas. Even your let- 
ter to brigadier Lewis countermanding the march 
of the troops did not arrive here till four weeks 
after it was written. The regiments had just be- 
gan their march ; but had they not been scattered 
abroad on distant stations, and badly provided with 
necessaries for such an expedition, they would have 
reached the place of their destination before your 
express could have stopped them. It will ht 
worth your while to examine into the occasion of 
this. I thought it a matter of so much impor- 
tance to have such orders communicated with dis- 
patch, that I advised the brigadier to send an ex- 
press to you immediately, to inform you of the un- 
accountable delay that yours had met with, and to 
recommend it to you to establish a post throughout 
your district ; but he was preparing for an expe- 
dition against Gwynn Island. The brigadier set 
out last Monday on his way to our camp, attended 
by the Colonels Woodford, Stephens, Buckner, 
Weedon, and some others, intending to examine 
mto the strength of the enemy, and submit the 
propriety of an attack to a council of war. They 
reached the camp that night, and the next day 
finding that the Dunmore had changed stations 
with the other, and had exposed herself very pret- 
tily to the very place where we had been preparing 
a battery for the Otter, they determined not to lose 
this good opportunity of beginning their cannon- 
nade, in which. they might severely and principally 



216 

chastise the noble Earl. At eight o'clock, A. M. 
captain Arundel and lieutenant Denny saluted the 
Dunmore and Otter, with two eighteen pounders; 
the very first shot at the Otter, though a full mile 
from our battery, struck her, as it is supposed, be- 
tween wind and water, for she did not return the 
fire, but was towed off on the careen. The Dun- 
more fired a broadside, and then was towed off, 
having receiv ed four shot through her sides ; whilst 
she was in tow, she received a fifth through her 
stern which raked her, scarcely a shot was fired 
which did not do execution in some part of the 
fleet. A schooner lost one of her masts. Whilst lieu- 
tenant Denny was firing on the fleet, their battery 
on the island began to play on him, and a ball pas- 
sed through the embrazure ; on which he immedi- 
ately turned his cannon on their battery ; for he had 
taken the precaution to have scope enough to take 
in the fleet, and that part of their battery ; and 
fired three times successively into their embrazure, 
which three rounds completely silenced that part 
of the battery ; the other part facing our lines on 
the Haven was almost as soon silenced by our bat- 
tery erected against it with four nines and three 
six pounders. Part of their camp was a little ex- 
posed to both of our batteries which fired a few 
rounds into it. This fire was us well directed as 
that against their ships ; for it beat down many of 
their tents, and threw their camp into the utmost 
confusion. When this was discovered, the briga- 
dier ordered canoes to be brought down, to enable 
the men to pass over into the island ; for, unhap- 
pily, we had not a boat on the shore : these could 
not be procured till the next day, when a smart 
cannonade began between the batteries ; but as 
soon as our rnen liad manijcd their boats, iheir fire 
ceased, and they retired with precipitation to their 



217 

boats, and escaped safely to their ships, having fiiiit 
broken ofF the trunnions, &c. of their cannon. 
There were three tenders up the haven which 
could not pass our batteries ; these they aban- 
doned ; they endeavoured to burn one, but our 
men boarded it, and extinguished the flames. I 
understand that all these tenders have their swivels 
in them ; but it is reported that they had thrown 
the guns overboard. We are now in possession of 
the island. The fleet has retired, but is in sis^ht. 
This might have been a complete affair, if proper 
measures had been preconcerted, and the whole 
well conducted. Our men, however, behaved 
well, our artillery was admirably served, and we 
have disgraced and mortified our enemies. In this 
affair we lost not a man ; but most unhappily poor 
Captain Arundel was killed by the bursting of a 
wooden mortar, with which he was endeavouring 
to throw shells into the fleet. His loss is irrepa- 
rable. He behaved with great spirit and activity, 
and was so hearty in our cause that he is universally 
lamented. Colonel Stephens is just returned from 
Gwynn's Island, he says the enemy carried off all 
their cannon from their batteries, except one six 
pounder, which they spiked. They left six car- 
riage guns in one of the tenders ; several negroes 
and a few whites were taken ; two negroes and 
one of the fourteenth regiment deserted to us. 
The prisoners inform, that Lord Dunmore's 
mate was cut in two by a double headed eighteen 
pounder, which also took off one man's arm and 
another's leg, and drove a splinter into his lord- 
ship's leg. Tom Byrd was ill of a fever, and 
was carted off to a boat just before our people 
landed. They were obliged to burn two line small 
vessels that d?y, and at nieht, in the mouth of the 
-river, they burnt ak>o ;> '•;:•' ^W:-:. sup(;o-cdto be 



218 

the Duiimore, as she was not with the fleet next 
morning. The Fowey it is said, was with the fleet 
but did not chuse to come within reach of our 
guns. The Roe- buck was at the mouth of Rap- 
pahannock. The Colonel says, when he came 
away, the whole fleet had sailed, and were out of 
sight, and it was uncertain where they are gone ; 
suppose to Maryland ? They went oflf in a bad 
plight without biscuit or water. Their works 
were found of excellent construction and consid- 
erable extent ; they were preparing to build houses 
and a wind-mill : they had made a vast collection 
of materials for different works ; their tents, which 
they moved off, except one markee which was left 
in their hurry, and through which a cannon ball 
had passed, were capable of containing about sev- 
en or eight hundred men. From many circum- 
stances it is evident they meant to stay there a con- 
i^iderable time. I have been interrupted in writing, 
and before I could return to my scrawl, I had the 
happiness to receive your letter of the third of 
July. I most heartily congratulate you on your 
success ; it was a most glorious affair — a noble de- 
fence ! The British navy has been happily check- 
ed in her proud career, and has received a most 
Just and complete chastisement. What must the 
king think now ? The whole continent in arms 
against him, seven hundred and fifty of his favour- 
ite highlanders in our possession, and his fleets re- 
pulsed and disgraced along our coasts for two 
thousand miles ! I hope he will repent and be 
contented to put up with the loss of America, or, 
if he does not, that he may meet with repeated 
disappointment. The Marylanders were roused 
by the resolve of our Convention, and have lectur- 
ed their representatives so well, that they have 
unanimously voted for independence — they have 



219 

no occasion for our riflemen on that account : 
However I can assure you, on the eastern shore 
of Maryland there has been a considerable insur- 
rection of tories, insomuch that Colonel Flem- 
ing has been obliged to march with a hundred and 
twenty men to quell them. We have not yet heard 
the event of that affair. I have just now received 
another letter from you, and am delighted M'ith 
your description of the bravery of Colonel Moul- 
trie and the garrison of Fort Sullivan. It is not 
flattery, my dear General, when I tell you, that 
most of us here attribute the glorious display of 
bravery on that day, to the animating presence of 
a commander, who, independent of his great miU 
itaiy abilities and experience, appeared to be the 
evil genius of Clinton, who had followed him, and 
from whose presence he had seemed to retire and 
retreat along the coast, from Boston to Charles 
Town. All that I could do, as there were not 
gentlemen enough in town to make a council, was 
to desire brigadier Lewis to send immediately to 
North Carolina, all the powder that could be spa- 
red out of the magazine. About four thousand 
pounds will be sent. 

I am most sincerely yours, 

JOHN PAGE. 
Major Gen. Lee. 



Philadelphia, July 23d, 1T76. 
Dear General, 

XT would take a volume to tell you how many 
clever things were said of you, and the brave 
troops under your command, after hearing of your 
late victory. It has given a wonderful turn to our 
affairs. The loss of Canada had struck the spirits 
of many people, who now begin to think our cau^e 



220 

is not abandoned, and that we shall yet triumph 
over our enemies. 

I'he declaration of independence has produced 
a new cera in this part of America. The militia 
of Pennsylvania seem to be actuated with a spirit 
more than Roman. Near two thousand citizens- 
of Philadelphia have lately marched towards New- 
York, in order to prevent an incursion being made 
by our enemies upon the state of New-Jersey. 
The cry of them all is for battle. I think Mr. 
Howe will not be able to get a footing in New- 
York, and that he will cad the present, or begin 
the next campaign in Canada, or in some one of 
the southern colonies. The only places in which 
America is vulnerable. We depend upon Gates 
in the north, and you oblige us to hope for great 
things from the south. 

The torics quiet, but very swYly, Lord Howe's 
proclamation leaves them not a single filament of 
their cobweb doctrine of reconciliation. 

The spirit of liberty reigns triumphant in Penn- 
sylvania. The proprietary gentry have retired to 
their country seats, and honest men have taken the 
•seats they abused so much in the government of 
our state. 

The papers will inform you, that I have been 
thrust into Cona:ress. I find there is a ejreat deal 
of difterence between sporting a sentiment in a 
letter, or over a glass of wine upon politics, and 
discharging properly the duty of a senator. I feel 
myself unequal to every part of my new situation, 
except where plain integrity is required. 

My former letters to you, may pass hereafter 
for a leaf of the Sibyls. They are full of predic- 
tions ; and, what is still more uncommon, some of 
them have proved true. I shall go on and add, 
that I think the declaration of independence will 



221 

produce union and new exertions in England in 
the same ratio that the}^ have done in this country. 
The present campaign, I beheve, is only designed 
to train us for the duties of next summer. 
Adieu, 

Yours sincerely, 

AN OLD FRIEND. 



Major Gen. Lee. 



My Dear Lee, 



Netv-Tork, August 12/ft, 17T6. 



Notwithstanding i shaii probably fed 

the effect, I do most cordially and sincerely con- 
gratulate you on your victory over Clinton and the 
British squadron at Sullivan's Island. A victory 
undoubtedly it is, when an enemy are drubbed, 
and driven from a country they were sent to con- 
quer. Such is the case of Clinton and Sir Peter 
Parker, who are now with the fleet and army at 
Staten Island, where General Howe and the troops 
from Halifax have been ever since the last day of 
June, and Lord Howe since the twelfth of July. 
Some Hessians and a pretty many of the Scottish 
laddies have got in, and the residue of the fleet 
parted with off the banks of Newfoundland, hour- 
ly expected. When the whole arrive matters will 
soon come to a decision, every thing being prepared 
on both sides for the appeal, and, on ours, I hope it 
will be obstinate, if not successful. 

The latter, it is not in the power of mortals to 
command ; but they may endeavour to deserve it ; 
and this I am persuaded, our troops will more than 
ever aim at, as I have impressed upon their minds 
the gallant behaviour of the brave few, who de- 
fended Sullivan's Island. 

At present the enemy can bring more -men t© 
T 2 



222 

a point than we can, and when reinforced by the 
Hessians without number, as unless the miUtia (fas- 
ter than heretofore) come into our aid, their num- 
bers, when the Hessians arrive cannot, by the best 
intelligence we can get, fall short of twenty- five 
thousand men. Ours are under twenty, very sick- 
ly, and posted on Governor's Island, Long Island, 
at Howlis Hook, Horn's Hook, and at the pass 
near King's Bridge ; more militia are expected, but 
whether they will be in time, time only can tell, as 
also where the point of attack will be. An opin- 
ion prevails, countenanced by hints from some of 
the principal tories, and corroborated by intelli- 
gence from Staten Island, that part of the enemy's 
fleet and army will go into the Sound, whilst ano- 
ther part of it, runs up the North River, thereby 
cutting off all communication by water with this 
place, whilst their troops form a chain across the 
neck, and stop an intercourse with Connecticut by 
land : others think, they will not leave an army in 
their rear, whilst they have the country in their 
front, getting by that means between two fires, un- 
less it is extended as a feint to withdraw our troops 
from the city, that they may slip in and possess 
themselves of it : all this is but a field of conjec- 
ture. 

Our affairs in the north have been growing from 
bad to worse, till I hope they will mend, as one 
great source of the evil is in a way of being re- 
moved, I mean, the small pox ; but the army have 
retreated from place to place, till they are now got 
to Ticonderoga, opposite to which on the east 
4,ide of the Lake Champlain, they are about to es- 
tablish a post, which they say will be invulnerable ; 
but whether it may not be somewhat like the man 
who built a mill on account of a beautiful fall, and 
then had to consider whether it was practicable to 



223 

bring water to it, remains in some measure to be 
determined, as it is the opinion of some, (I know 
nothing of the country myself,) that the enemy 
may pass this post and get into Lake George, with- 
out receiving the least annoyance from this work. 
Whether they would chuse to leave a post in their 
rear, without establishing one themselves, sufficient 
to.keep it in awe is the point in question. 

It gives me a very singular pleasure to hear of 
the gallant behaviour of your young aids, and Mr. 
Jenefer, as also of Colonels Moultrie and Thomp- 
son, to be the means at any time, of rewarding 
merit, will add greatly to my happiness ; and 
whenever you can point out a mode that can be 
adopted consistently, you shall find me very ready : 
but you know the temper of the troops in this 
quarter, as well as I do, and how impracticable it 
is to bring in a person, let his merit be ever so 
great, without throwing a whole corps into confu- 
sion. This will also apply to Captain Bullet. What 
vacancies there may be in your department that he 
has his eye to, and could he appointed to with pro- 
priety, you must know better than I. That there 
is none here, I can undertake to say. I have no 
doubt but the Congress would annex the rank of 
colonel to his office of adjutant. I believe they 
have done it in the instance of Griffin, who is ap- 
pointed deputy adjutant to the flying camp. If 
this would add any thing to his satisfaction, I should 
have no objection to the mention of it. With 
every wish for your prosperity and success, I re- 
main with sincere regard. 

Your most affectionate and obedient, 
G. WASHINGTON. 
Gen. Lee, 



I>EAR Sir, 



224 

General Greai's Quarters, Nov.iGih, 17TG. 



X OU will see by the inclosed Resolves, that Con- 
gress have entered into some new regulations re- 
specting the enlistment of the new army, and re- 
probating the measures adopted by the state of 
Massachu sett's Bay for raising their quota of men. 

As every possible exertion should be used for 
recruiting the army, as speedily as may.be, I re- 
quest that you immediately publish, in orders, 
that an allowance of a dollar and one-third of a 
dollar will be paid to the officers for every soldier 
they shall enlist, whether in or out of camp. 

Also, that it will be optional in the soldier to 
enlist during the continuance of the war, or for 
three years, unless sooner discharged by Congress. 
In the former case, they are to receive all such 
bounty and pay as have been heretofore mentioned 
in orders ; those who engage for the latter time, 
that of three years, are not to receive the bounty 
in land. 

That no mistakes may be made, you will direct 
the recruiting officers, from your division, to pro- 
vide two distinct enHstnig rolls ; one for those to 
sign who engage during the war ; the other for 
those who enlist for three years, if their service 
shall be so long required. 

I am sorry to inform you, that this day about 
twelve o'clock, the enemy made a general attack 
upon our lines about Fort Washington, which, 
having carried, the garrison retired within the 
fort. Colonel Magaw finding there was no pros- 
pect of retreating a-cross the North River, surren- 
dered the post. We do not yet know the loss of 
killed and wounded on either side ; but I imagine 
it must have been pretty considerable, as the en* 



225 

gagement, at some parts of the lines, was of long 
continuance, and heavy ; neither do I know the 
terms of capitulation. The force of the garri- 
son, before the attack, was about two thousand 
men. 

Before I left Peck's-hill, I urged to General 
Heath, the necessity of securing the pass through 
the Highlands next to the river, as well on that as 
this side, and to the forts above ; but as the pre- 
serving of these and others which lay more easterly, 
and which are equally essential, is a matter of the 
last impoitance, I must beg you to turn your at- 
tention that way, and to have such measures adopt- 
ed for their defence as your judgment shall sug- 
gest to be necessary. 1 do not mean to advise 
abandoning your present post contrary to your 
own opinion, but only to mention my ideas of the 
importance of those passes, and that you cannot 
give too much attention to their security, by ha- 
ving works erected in the most advantageous pla- 
ces for that purpose. 

I am, dear Sir, 

Your most obedient Servant, 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
Gen. Lee. 



THE RESOLVES OF CONGRESS MENTIONED IN THE 
PRECEDING LETTER. 

IN CONGRESS, Nov. 7th, 1776. 

Re SOLVED, that the resolution passed the 14th 
of October, last, That the allowance to officers of 
one and one-third of a dollar for enlisting soldiers, 
be not extended or giving on the re-ei>iistment of 
the soldiers in camp, be repealed. 



226 



Nov. i-2th, 1776. 

Resolved, As the opinion of this Congress, 
that if the soldiers to be raised by the state of Mas- 
sachusett's Bay, be enlisted on the terms offered 
to them, (which are more advantageous than what 
are offered to other soldiers serving in the same ar- 
my,) it would much retard, if not totally impede, 
the enlistment of the latter, and produce discon- 
tent and murmur, unless Congress should equally 
increase the pay of these ; which it is the opinion 
of this Congress would universally be reprobated 
as an immoderate expence, and complained of, as 
a grievous burden by those who must bear it ; and 
therefore, that the committee from the state of 
Massachusett's Bay, be desired not to enlist their 
men on the additional pay offered by the Assembly 
of that state. 

Upon reconsidering the Resolution of the 16th 
of September last, for raising eighty-eight battal- 
ions, to serve during the present war with Great 
Britain, Congress being of opinion, that the readi- 
ness of the inhabitants of the states to enter into 
the service for limited times, in defence of their 
invaluable privileges, on all former occasions, gives 
good ground to hope the same zeal for the public 
good will appear in future when necessity calls for 
their assistance ; and the uncertain length of time 
which forces raised during the continuance of the 
Avar may be compelled to serve, may prevent ma- 
ny from enlisting who would otherwise readily 
manifest their attachment to the common cause, 
by engaging for a limited time, therefore, 

Resolved, That all non-commission officers 
and soldiers, who do not incline to engage their 
services during the continuance of the present 
war, and shall enlist to serve three years, unless 



227 

sooner discharged by Congress, shall be entitled 
to, and receive, all such bounty and pay as are al- 
lowed to those who enlist during the continuance 
of the present war, except the one hundred acres 
of land which is to be granted to those only who 
enlist without limitation of time. 

And each recruiting^ officer is required to pro- 
vide two distinct enlisting rolls ; one for such to 
sign who enlist during the continuance of the war, 
and the other for such as enlist for three years, if 
their service shall be so long required. 

By order of tht Congress, 

JOHN HANCOCK, Pres. 

COPY. 

Robert Harrison. 



Hackensark, Nor. "lisl, 1776. 
Dear General, 

A HE letter you will receive with this contains my 
sentiments with respect to your present station ; 
but besides this, I have some additional reasons 
for most earnestly wishing to have you where the 
principal scene of action is laid. I do not mean 
to flatter nor praise you at the expence of any 
other, but, I confess, 1 do think that it is entirely 
owing to you, that this army and the liberties of 
America, so far as they are dependent on it, are 
not totally cut off. You have decision, a quality 
often wanting in minds otherwise valuable : and 
I ascribe to this our escape from York-Island, 
from King's Bridge, and the Plains ; and I have 
no doubt, had you been here, the garrison of 
Mount Washington would now have composed a 
part of this army : and from all these circumstan- 
ces, I confess I ardently wish to see you removed 
from a place where I think there will be little call 



5228 

for yftur judgment and experience, to the place 
where they are likely to be so necessary. Nor am 
I singular in my opinion, everj^ gentlemen of the 
family, the officers and soldiers, generally have a 
confidence in you : the enemy constantly enquire 
where you are, and seem to me to be less confi- 
dent when you arc present. 

Colonel Cadwallader, through a special indul- 
gence, on account of some civilities shewn by his 
family to General Prcscot, has beeiT liberated from 
New- York without any parole. He informs, that 
the enemy have a southern expedition in view ; 
that they hold us very cheap in consequence of the 
late affair at Mount Washington, where both the 
plan of defence and execution were contemptible. 
If a real defence of the lines was intended, the 
number was too few ; if the Fort only, the garri- 
son was too numerous by half. General Wash- 
ington's own judgment, seconded by representa- 
tions from us, would, I believe, have saved the men 
and their arms ; but, unluckily, General Green's 
judgment was contrary. This kept the General's 
mind in a state of suspense till the stroke was 
struck. Oh, General ! an indecisive mind is one 
of the greatest misfortunes that can befal an army : 
how often have I lamented it this campaign ! 

All circumstances considered, we are in a very 
awful, alarming state, one that requires the utmost 
wisdom and firmness of mind. 

As soon as the season will admit. I think vour- 
self and some others should go to Congress, and 
form the plan of the new army, point out their 
defects to them, and, if possible, prevail on them 
to bind their whole attention to this great object, 
even to the exclui^ion of every other. If they will 
not, or cannot, do this, I fear all our exertions 
will be vain in this part of the world. Foreign 



229 

assistance Is soliciting, but we cannot expect they 
will fight the whole battle. 

I intended to have said n:iore, but the express 
is waiting, and I must conclude with my clear 
and explicit opinion, that your presence is of the 
last importance. 

I am, with much affection and regard. 
Your very affectionate, 
Humble servant, 

JOSEPH REED, Adjut. Gen. 

Major Gen. Lee, 
at the White Plains. 



Plilladclphia, Aug. SOlh, 1TT8. 
My dear General, 

A AMshocked, confounded, and exceedingly cha- 
grined to hear the court have adjudged you guilty 
of all the charges alleged against yon, and have 
suspended you one year on account of it. The 
sentence is as unaccountable to me, as that they 
should find you guiUy. 

Matters have been so cursedly represented against 
you In this place, that I have been ahiiost mob- 
iDcd in defending you. Ten thousand infamous 
lies have been spread, that I never heard before, 
to bias the friends of the people against you. In 
the name of God, what are we come to ? — So 
much for our republic;;nism. 

[ am beyond description unhappy, I fisel for 
the injury ofa man I do sincerely esteem — a mnn 
whose merit is so '-oJ^picuous throughout the 
world ; and more particularly for a man, who, 
if justice was to take place, and facts properly 
known, merited the thanks of the continent, for 
the transactions of that day, in a most singular 
manner. 

u 



230 

1 have not been able to see Mr. Lee ; I called 
twice, but he was not at home ; to-morrow morn- 
ing I shall have the pleasure, I expect, as I in- 
tend to call again. General Mifflin will be in town 
to-morrow, whom I shall likewise visit. 

My sincere affection you will ever command, 
and I shall never esteem myself so happy as when 
I can have it in my power to render you a service, 

I will in two or three days, set out for camp, in 
order to have an interview with you. 
I am, dear General, 

Yours affectionately, 

•j^ * ^- ^^ 

Major Gen. Lee. 



Brmistcick, Jan. 16/fc, ilf^. 
Sir, 

1 AM honoured with your favour of the 18th ult. 
and can assure you, that of the merit or demerit 
of your conduct in the affair of Monmouth, on the 
28th of June, I have not to this day framed any 
opinion. I have so little leisure to attend to the 
military operations of America, and am so incom- 
petent a judge of the qualifications necessary to 
constitute the character of a general, that I make 
no judgment at all. But without admitting or 
denying that you have made greater sacrifices in 
the cause of American freedom than any officer of 
our whole army, without a single exception, and 
that it is not less certain that you have saved our 
whole arniy more than once from destruction, (the 
proofs of which are not in my possession,) I can 
assure you, that I heartily disapprove of all publi- 
cations containing personal reflections on the char- 
acter of any gentleman, and especially on those of 
vour rank, in the American armv. And if what 



231 

was represented to the public, as a mere republi- 
cation of a paper formerly printed by a Virginian, 
has been, as you say, republished with many ma- 
licious alterations and additions, it is still the more 
inexcHsable ; because all such alterations and ad- 
ditions, besides their particular malignity against 
you, (for which alone I should condemn them,) 
are an imposition upon the world ; and it must be 
considered, by every man of honour, be the legal 
construction what it will, as a downright forgery. 
I can further assure you, that I cannot but disap- 
prove of Mr. Collins's inserting the paper you re- 
fer to in his gazette, not only because no printer 
ought to make his press a vehicle for personal slan- 
der, but because he set out with a professed decla- 
ration against diverting his paper to such purposes, 
and has so tenaciously adhered to that maxim till 
the publication in question, as to reject, if my in- 
formation be true, several pieces on account of 
the personal reflections they contained on gentle- 
men in the service of the enemy, and which the 
law of retaliation would clearly have warranted 
him to insert. And I must declare, in justice to 
him, and from what I personally know of his hu- 
mane disposition, and his disinclination to convey 
through the channel of his press any thing injuri- 
ous to the reputation of others, that I firmly be- 
lieve, he has taken the paper, presented to him as 
a copy of a publication in Virginia, for a true copy. 
And it is generally supposed, by virtue of what law 
I know not, but perhaps by one as rational as that 
of deciding controversies by private combat, 
in civil communities which reprobate that mode 
of decision, that a printer, by the bare republica- 
tion of a paper, is not presumed to adopt the sen- 
timents ; and that, by disclosing to the party ag- 
grieved, at whose instance it was republished, he 



232 

always averts the indignation of the sufferer fro^Tfi 
himself to tliat person. I should, however, be 
vci}' sorry to fiiKi any of our printers imitate the 
practice of the British subjects in New- York, who 
whether they excel us in military discipline and 
Gourage or not, have, to my certain knowledge, 
hitheito surpassed us in printed calumny and de- 
traction. 

From thesemy sentiments respectingthe printers 
of defamatory pa])ers, I hope, sir, you will not 
question my disapprobation both of the original 
authors, and the secondary propagators, of slander. 
But neither Mr, Boudinot's appointment to, nor 
deposition from, his office, as commissary of our 
.state ])risoners, being in my department, it is not 
in my power to do you the justice which you seem 
to expect in'uiatline; nor is there any authority 
in thia state by which he can be cashiered, till the 
next mcctinp- of our assemblv, which stands ad- 
journed to the 19th of May. But the law of the 
state is always at every one's service ; and, in the 
case of libels, if we are to credit the British law- 
}'ers, so peculiarly favourable to the prosecutor, 
that the scandal is not the less penal for being true, 
th.an if it was utterly false ; which, I think, is gi- 
^'ing a man as great a chance as can reasonably be 
desired ; and, perhaps, if you thought proper to 
publish your letter to me on the subject under con- 
sideration, it would be as ample satisfaction against 
Mr. Boudinot, as the nature of the offence requires; 
but that I entirely submit to your better judg- 
ment. In a word, sir, whenever it shall be point- 
ed out to me in what manner I can, with any pro- 
priety, interfere in the matter, either as governor of 
this state, or as a private gentleman, I shall not 
hesitate a moment to do you all the justice which I 
conceive you deserve. In the mean time, I em- 



i^o 



brace this opportunity to re-acknowledgc my 
grateful sense of your friendly intimations, some 
time since, of the enemy's peculiar resentment 
against me, and your kind concern for my personal 
safety upon that account. I must, however, take 
the liberty to say, as a man detached from all par- 
ties, and wholly devoted to what he thinks the true 
interests of his country, that I should be extreme- 
ly unhappy in having reason to believe what is 
frequently, and perhaps injuriously, reported of 
you, that you endeavoured to lessen the estimation 
in which General Washington is held by the most 
virtuous citizens of America ; and which estima- 
tion, not, sir, from a blind attachment to men of 
high rank, nor from any self-interested motive 
whatsoever, but from a full conviction of his great 
personal merit and public importance, I deem it 
my duty to my country to use my utmost influence 
to support. 

I am, with all due respect, 
Sir, 
Your most humble servant, 
Major Gen. Lee. W. LIVINGSTON. 



Philadelphia, Od. £4, 1779. 
Mz DEAR Friend, 

JL AM distressed to think that all your friendly 
letters and messages to me have met with such un- 
grateful returns. I have written twoletters to you, 
one of which was inclosed under a cover, directed 
to Mr. Wolford, and put into the Post Office ; 
the other was mislaid and lost before I could hear 
of an opportunity of sending it. You see from 
this, that I have not been unmindful of you. You 
have wounded me in supposing that I am carried 
away bv the tide of the times. I would as soon be 
u 2 



234 

suspected of picking a pocket, as of infidelity in 
friendship, or idolatry in politics. 

Major Eustace informed me of your reply to 
President Reed's publications. Our printers re- 
fused to give it a place in their papers : it was best 
for you they did so. Have patience ; time and 
posterity will do you justice. The summer flies 
that now din our ears must soon retire. Nothing 
but virtue and real abilities will finally pass muster, 
v;hcn the public cool a little from the ferment into 
which the great and sudden events of the late re- 
volution have thrown us. I would rather be one of 
}'our dogs in a future history of the present war, 
than possess the first honours that are now current 
in America, with the characters which I know 
some of our great men merit. Poor Pennsylvania 
has become the most miserable spot upon the sur- 
face of the globe. Our streets, alas ! have been 
stained already with fraternal blood ; a sad prelude, 
we fear, of the future mischiefs our constitution 
will bring' upon us; they call it a democracy, a mo- 
bocracy in my opinion would be more proper. All 
our laws breathe the spirit of town meetings and 
porter shops : but I forget that I am not safe in 
communicating my opinion of men and measures 
to paper. Oh, Liberty ! Liberty ! I have worship- 
ped thee as a substance! — But — it is near twelve 
o'clock at night, and I am much fatigued with an 
unusual share of business ; for in the true stile of 
the subject of a monarch, my family and my bu- 
siness now engross all my time and attention-— mj 
country I have long ago left to the care of Timo- 
thy Matlock, Charles Wilson Peale, and Co. I 
must therefore bid you good night, wishing you 
at the same time all possible health and happiness, 
nd am, my dear Lee, 

Your sincere and affectionate 
Major Gen. Lee. OLD FRIEND. 



Mr DEAR Lee, 



235 

York-town, Od. 21*/, 1731. 



A HERE are few circumstances that give me 
equal pleasure to that of hearing from my friends ; 
and, as my esteem for you has ever encreased in 
proportion to your misfortunes in the road of per- 
secution, 1 am always made happy in a line from 
you, as it announces your present situation. 

Your being robbed of your hordes is a common 
evil, and its falling harder on you than any other 
person is what I should have expected, from the 
disposition of wretches always disposed to heap 
coals on the head of the injured. I am happy ever 
in having it in my power to inform you of the good 
esteem in which you are held in the army ; and 
that they are not now, whatever they have been, in- 
clined to pursue the track of persecution, beaten 
so bare as it is by creatures whose praise would be 
a dishonour to any honest man. 

PoorFleury, the other day, calledmea one-side 
to whisper to me, and after looking round, to pre- 
vent a possibility of being over-heard, he asked 
me what had become of you? I could not help 
smiling, and in my reply, telling him you was ve- 
ry well, and that he need not be afraid of acknow- 
ledging an acquaintance with General Lee in the 
most public assembly in America ; that I esteem- 
ed it an honour to call myself his friend ; that my 
sincere attachment to him was amply rewarded by 
the universal approbation of all good and sensible 
men. He answered me, he was very glad of it : 
it was every where known in France that you had 
been ill-treated, and that every person lamented 
your misfortune. 

The surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his ar- 
my will reach you before this letter. I think this 



236 

is a circumstance which must secure to America 
her independence. What will follow, I leave to 
time. It must have been a mortifying circum- 
stance to my lord, to have solicited terms, as no 
demand of a surrender was made. We had just 
completed our second parallel, at two hundred 
yards from his main works. In the capitulation 
he was not permitted to uncase his colours, or to 
beat an American or French march. You will 
probably see your friend O'Hara, who is a priso- 
ner. 

We expect now to go on to Charles Town, to 
invest that place. The moment I can obtain per- 
mission to leave the army, I will repair to your 
hermitage, and spend some time with you, when 
I promise myself much satisfaction. In the mean 
while, believe me, 

Your affectionate and 

Unalterable friend, 
E. EDW^ARDS. 



LETTERS 

FROM 

MAJOR CENEHAI. ILIEE. 



London, Dec. isl, 1T66, 
Most exckllknt Sir, and most dear Master, 

J- OUR Majesty will better imagine, than I can 
express the pleasure I have received from your 
kind and gracious letter : the assurances it gives 
me of your good opinion and regard, I shall 
ever consider as the happiest, the most honourable 
circumstance of my life. They make ample 
amends for the enmities I have drawn upon my- 
self from certain powerful quarters in my own 
country, where, perhaps, from some just judgment 
of God, the same qualities which would recom- 
mend to your Majesty are highly obnoxious. I 
devoutly wish, and proudly hope, for my own 
honour, that I may ever possess a place in the 
esteem of your Majesty, and remain the aversion of 
those who so widely, so totally, differ from you. 
I am concerned I cannot more fully, and in a 
more satisfactory manner, answer the several ques- 
tions of your Majesty on the state of our country, 
than what I am able to do. Of some of these articles, 
the cause, though generally treated of, appears not 
in the least understood ; on others, opinions are 
so various that it is presumption to decide ; but. 
some are, I think obvious to every man of com-r 
mon understanding ; and of this class indf be 
reckoned Mr. Pitt's quitting the stage and the con- 
duct of the American colonies towards the mother 



238 

country. With respect to the first, it is manifest, 
from a thousand circumstances, that with the 
health and frame of this extraordinary man, the 
understanding is likewise worn out. Before I 
came to England, I did not lay much stress on 
those parts of his conduct which the newspapers 
have so worried ; and I recollect your Majesty 
was of the same way of thinking, that there 
was nothing very monstrous in his acceptance 
of a peerage, but that it might be imprudent, 
and argued a senselessness of glory, to forfeit the 
name of Pitt for any title the king could bestow. 
But since I am a little more behind the scenes, and 
am made acquainted v/ith several circumstances 
previous, concomitant, and subsequent to this 
event, I am apt to agree with the majority of the 
better sort, that this once noble mind is quite 
overthrown. Can it be reconciled to reason, that 
the same man who had rendered his name so illus- 
trious and so tremendous to the greatest part of the 
globe, should split upon ribbons and titles ; that 
when he had arrived at a higher pinnacle of glory 
than ever citizen did since the days of Epaminon- 
das, he should be captivated by such a bauble, 
even though it should be attended with no ill con- 
sequences to the affairs of his country ? but when 
such terrible ones Vi^ere visible, it must be constru- 
ed downright madness. Mr. Pitt, say they, was 
the only man who had capacity, spirit, and power 
to assert the honour and interest of the nation 
with foreign states, correct the abuses, and stem 
the torrent of corruption at home. His power 
was not founded on vast property or cabinet fa- 
vour, but on his popularity. By sinking into a 
peenage, his popularity would vanish of coiu'se, 
and with it Al power of rendering, at a most crit- 
ical time, any farther services to his country. If 



239 

it is objected that it is possible to accept a title 
and retain the integrity of the citizen, they allow 
it; but that, unfortunately, the bulk of the people 
will not be persuaded of it ; that a popular min- 
ister must, therefore, not only be strictly virtuous, 
but, like Cassar's wife, his virtue must not be 
suspected ; that this persuasion of the people, ri- 
diculous as it may appear at first sight, is foun- 
ded on too much justice ; for they observe, that, 
from the time of Wentworth down to that of Pul- 
teney, not one instance can be produced of a man's 
changing his seat from the lower to the upper 
house, without a thorough renunciation of all 
principles and public virtue ; but whether this 
opinion is well or ill founded, as it is a prevalent 
one, this revolt, error, folly, or madness, of such 
a man has some direful effects ; it taints with jeal- 
ousy all public affiance, establishes a doubt, wheth- 
er such a thing as public virtue can exist : in short, 
it makes the bulk of mankind indifferent who are 
in, who are out, as they are almost persuaded that 
all men are, or will prove, in the end, equally vain, 
apostates to the common cause, either through in- 
terestedness, vanity, or madness. 

Such are the arguments not only made use of 
by the majority of Mr. Pitt's once admirers, but 
they were stated to him by those who were suppo- 
sed Jo have the greatest weight with him. Lord 
Camden, in particular, concluding this resolution 
to be a short fit of compliance, and that his friend 
would soon see the danger of the measure, delay- 
ed the signing of the patent for two days. But 
his lordship was mistaken, the disorder had taken 
deeper root than he imagined ; no girl could shew 
more impatience for a new toy, than this first of 
men did, till the testimony of his folly was signed 
and sealed to the whole world. Your Majesty will 



240 

probably object, that though Mr. Pitt played the 
child in one article, it is no proof of the general 
failure of his understanding ; that no man was ev- 
er blessed with so entire faculties, as not, on some 
particular occasion, and in some unlucky moment, 
to betray weakness. But this is not the case with 
Pitt, the decay of his parts is not only indicated 
by the act itself, but confirmed by his conduct in 
public and private character : In public the doc- 
trines he broaches are diametrically the reverse of 
what he has, through the whole course of his life, 
asserted : In private, he is totally metamorphosed; 
from the extreme of plainness and simplicity, he 
is all parade, magnificence and ostentation. But 
I might have spared your Majesty this prolix de- 
tail, when in few words, it would have sufficed to 
have said, that he has fits of crying, starting, and 
every effect of hysteric; it is affirmed, indeed, 
that ten years ago, he was in the very same condi- 
tion, that therefore a possibility of his recovering 
once more his nerves, and with them all his func- 
tions ; but from the age of the man, the generali- 
ty consider the piece as finished ; the honest and 
well-wishers of their country lament over him, 
the corrupt and profligate sing Te Deum, as the 
Devil probably did for the fall of man. Your 
Majesty asks who is to mount the stage in his 
room ? I am so far from seeing any man so qua- 
lified in all points, as'to fill his part in time of dis- 
traction and confusion, that I know no set of men 
who have a chance of being called to it, who will 
not by ignorance, obstinacy, or timidity, throw 
things into ten times greater confusion than they 
are at present. My Lord Rockingham is indeed 
an honest, worthy, and spirited man, and possesses 
the good opinion of the people in general, but 
these attributes will probably exclude him. The 



241 

Thane who is still all-powerful, will never admit 
of a man so endowed. He requires a certain de- 
gree of subserviency and complaisance ; in short, 
he requires a minister of his own jobs and parti- 
alities, and not an administrator of the national 
affairs. As to the rest who form what is called tlie 
opposition, they are so odious, or contemptible, 
that the favourite himself is preferable to them ; 
such as Grenville, Bedford, Newcastle, and their 
associates. Temple is one of the most ridiculous 
order of coxcombs I ever heard of, he is eter- 
nally appealing to the .public, forgetting that the 
public never considered him farther than they 
would an old pair of boots, which Mr. Pitt might, 
tlirough whim, have set a value upon, which when 
he chose to throw aside, it mattered not if they 
were thrown into a lumber room or the fire. No- 
thing could make the American colonists cast off 
their obedience, or even respect to their mother 
country, but some attempt on tlie essence of their 
liberty ; such as undoubtedly the stamp act was, 
which, if it had remained unrepealed, and admit- 
ted as a precedent, they would have been slaves to 
all intents and purposes, as their whole property 
would lie at the mercy of the Crown's minister 
and the minister's ministers, the House of Com- 
mons, who would fijid no end to the necessity of 
taxing these people, as every additional tax would 
furnish the master with means of adding to their 
respective wages ; but it would be impertinent in 
me to enter into a discussion of the propriety or 
impropriety, the justice or injustice, of this mea- 
sure, when it is so fully and clearly treated in some 
tracts which are bound up together, and which I 
have ordered to be sent to your Majesty. If the 
humours which this accursed attempt has raised, 
are suffered to subside, the inherent affection which 



242 

the colonies have for their mother country, and 
clashings of interests one amongst another, will 
throw every thing back into the old channel ; which 
indeed is the case already : but if another attack 
of the same nature should be made upon them, by 
a wicked blundering minister, I will venture to 
prophecy, that this country will be shaken to its 
foundation in its wealth, credit, naval force, and 
interior population. 



London, Dec. ^5th, 1766. 
My DEAR Prince, 

\ OU will do me great injustice if you attribute 
my silence for so many months to a want of sense 
of your excessive goodness and friendship, or even 
to carelessness, which, considering the obligations 
I lie under to your highness, would be one and the 
same thing. The truth is, that I was unwilling to 
trouble you with a fulsome letter of acknowledge- 
ments, as I hope you are no stranger to my senti- 
ments on the subject ; but I thought a few lines 
which would give you a sketch of the state of 
this country, of the parties, and of our prospect 
in reiation to foreign and interior affairs, would be 
the only possible method of making your High- 
ness some return for the thousand instances of 
friendship which I have received at your hands ; 
but the most reasonable schemes are frequently de- 
feated : so it fares with me ; for although I have 
been in London eight days, which, in this political 
and communicative town is sufficient, one should 
think, to make a man master of every thing neces- 
sary to be known ; but my evil stars have disap- 
pointed me, and your evil stars have dictated to 
me, that, notwithstanding the insignificancy of all 
I have to say, it would be a petty treason to remain 



243 

any longer silent. You must therefore accept the 
will for the deed ; in a few posts I hope to be able 
to amuse you better. The king and his mii isters 
are out of town, or more properh , I should have said 
the ministers and their king, for I do not find that 
the latter is any more a principal than when I left 
England. Lord Chatham is supposed to be abso- 
lute in all affairs which concern the state ; Bute in 
his corner, retains influence to a sufficient degree, 
for the provision of his creatures and couiitrymen, 
in subordinate offices ; he disclaims all concern 
with business ; but this is like the rest of his con- 
duct a most impudent and ineffectual hypocrisy ; 
for he is as usual, not credited. A formidable op- 
position is expected, but the conjectures on its suc- 
cess are too vague to be attended to. Some men 
of weight and reputation are embarked in it ; but 
the heads are too odious to the nation in general 
in my opinion, to carry their point. Such as Bed- 
ford, Sandwich, G. Grenville, and, with submis. 
sion, your friend Mansfield. He lately drew up- 
on himself the laugh of the House of Lords, ma- 
king use of the word Liberty of the Subject ; and 
expressing great regard to it, it was called Satan 
preaching up sanctity. Conway is still secretary 
of state, and much regarded as a man of ability 
and integrity. Lord Shelburne, the other secre- 
tary, has surpassed the opinion of the world ; he 
speaks well, and is very distinct in office. The 
Duke of Grafton is an absolute orator, and has a 
fair character. An Irishman, one Mr. Burke, is 
sprung up in the House of Commons, who has 
astonished every body with the power of his elo- 
quence, his comprehensive knowledge in all our 
exterior and internal politics and commercial inte- 
rests. He wants nothing but that sort of dignity 
annexed to rank, and property in England, to 



244 

make him the most considerable man in the Lower 
House. 

A dispute with Portugal, on some commercial 
points, seems at present chiefly to occupy the 
thoughts of the ministry. It is thought, that an 
embassador extraordinary, with an escort of ten 
ships of war, which is the best ultima ratio, will be 
sent to Lisbon. I have had some conversation 
with our ministry on the affairs of Poland ; but 
4is this letter goes by the common post, I cannot 
send you the particulars. The character of his 
Majesty is high in their esteem. I intreat your 
Highness to present my duty to him, to assure him 
of my zeal, veneration, and love ; in a few days, 
i-shall take the liberty of writing to him, or to- 
Mr. Ogroudski. I wait till I have had a conver- 
sation \vith ihe King. Could your Highness pro- 
cure me a copy of his Majesty's picture, either in 
miniature, or otherwise ; I ask for a copy, as I 
would not presume to trouble him to sit. You 
would likewise make me very happy with your 
own. I was much pleased with an acquaintance 
with Lavisa at the Hague. His warm attachment 
to our incomparable master has much endeared 
him to me. We have some books published here, 
which I fancy you would be glad to have, particu- 
larly, the whole letters of Swift. They are the 
best history of those times^ and read with great avi- 
dity. When the Baltic is open, I shall send to his 
Majesty a considerable number, as he has done me 
the honour to trust to my judgment, and drawn 
on Mr. Tipper for the cost. ^ 

I have not heard from our friend Lind ; I beg 
you will chide him for this abominable neglect. 
Wroughton too deserves abuse ; I shall write to 
him in a few posts. The reason of Lord Thanet's 
delay in regard to the horse, was delicacy. He 



245 

could not find any he thought good enough ; 
but in the spring he will send a couple, which 
will, in all respects, suit his Majesty. 

I entreat you, my dear prince, to pay my hum- 
ble respects to your father, mother, the prince, 
chancellor, and all your house, to which I have 
so great obligations, and for which I have a 
sincere love and honour, and that you will steal 
a few moments to give me under your hand what 
I am already convinced of, that I possess some 
share of your love and friendship. 

I am, with the most respectful sentiments. 
My dear Prince, ever yours, 

CHARLES LEE. 



Warsaw, May isi, 17G7. 
My ItSAR CoLEHAN, 

X OU must undoubtedly think me a very ex- 
traordinary persoi^ that, on a slender acquaintance, 
I should have saddled you with the curation of my 
affairs, and afterwards not think it worth my 
while to write you even a civil note, such as a 
common acquaintance, who had conferred no ob- 
ligation, might have expected. The truth is, 
I have every day expected to be ascertained of 
my destiny, and then intended to have given you 
a circumstantial plan of my operations ; but as 
this day is as remote, in all appearance, as ever, 
I should be gulity of a monstrous neglect, in any 
farther delaying, to pay the tribute of friendship 
which I so sensibly owe. Believe me, my dear 
Sir, that I most sincerely love and honour you ; and 
this love and honour is founded on so solid a basis, 
that I have dared to neglect a form which would, 
not be pardoned by a person who is not really 
an object of esteem. 

X 2 



246 

I have been in this place two months waiting 
for an opportunity to join the Russian army, and 
I am afraid I shall be obliged to wait a month 
longer. The communications are so filled with the 
offals of the confederates, who are themselves 
a banditti, that it is impossible to stir ten yards- 
without an escort of Russians : the English are 
less secure than others, as they are esteemed the 
arch-enemies of the holy faith. A French come- 
dian was the other day near being hanged from the 
circumstance of his wearing a bob-wig, which by 
the confederates, is supposed to be the uniform of 
the English nation. I wish to God the three 
branches of our legislature would take it into their 
heads to travel through the woods of Poland in 
bob-wigs. 

The first opportunity that will offer will be the 
present embassador, who, it is said, will now be 
succeeded in ten days ; but this has been so long 
said, that I begin to despair of any opportunity at 
all; if none should offer, I have made a wise joiir- 
ney of it : I believe it would break my heart. I 
have an unspeakable curiosity of seeing this cam- 
paign, though, in fact, I believe it will be a ridicu- 
lous one ; if not like that of Harlequin and Sea- 
pin, it will resemble the battle of Wilks and Tal- 
bot. The Russians can gain nothing by beating 
their enemy, and the Turks are confoundedly 
afraid. I wish, by practice, to make myself a sol- 
dier for purposes honest, but which I shall not 
mention. If I am defeated in my intention of 
joining the Russians, I think of passing through 
Hungary, and spending the ensuing winter in the 
i,outh of Italy, Sicily, or some of the islands in 
the ^gean sea. As you are a scholar I venture 
to talk this cant. As to England, I am resolved 
not to set rny ^^^^ "^ ^^' ^^^ ^^^^ vitrue which I be- 



247 

lieve to exist in the body of the people can be put 
into motion. I have good reasons for it. Mv 
spirits and temper were much affected by the mea- 
sures which I was witness of, measures absolutely 
moderate, laudable, and virtuous, in comparison 
of what has been transacted since. To return so- 
lemn thanks to the Crown for the manifestly cor- 
rupt dissipation of its enormous revenues and im- 
pudent demand on the people ; to repair this dis- 
sipation, to complete their own ruin, is pushing 
servility farther than the rascally senate of Tibe- 
rias was guilty of. In this light it is considered 
by all those I converse with, of every nation, even 
those who have the least idea of liberty. The 
Austrians and Russians hoot at us. In fine, it is 
looked upon as the ultimatum of human baseness, 
a coup de grace to our freedom and national hon- 
our. 

You will say, it is being a pleasant correspond- 
ent, giving you my comments on what passes un- 
der your own eyes, and being entirely silent on the 
transactions of this country, which you may be 
supposed to have some curiosity of being acquain- 
ted with. You will not think me serious when I 
assure you, that I am as totally a stranger to them 
as yourself or any man in England. Humphrey 
Gates, 1 am sure, must know fifty times more of 
the matter. I see that the country is in one gener- 
al state of confusion, filled with devastation and 
murder. I hear every day of the Russians beat- 
ing the Confederates ; but as to what the Russians, 
what the Confederates, what the body of the na- 
tion propose, I am utterly ignorant, though no 
more, I believe, than they are themselves. Their 
method of carrying on the war is equally gentle 
with what our's was in North America ; the Con- 
federates hang up all the Russians who fall into 



a48 

their hands, and the Russians put to the sword the 
Confederates. The Russian Cossacks have an ad- 
mirable sang froid in these executions. The 
other day, at a place called Rava, forty or fifty 
Confederates were condemned to the bayonet ; but 
as they were tolerably dressed, they were obliged 
to strip for the ceremony, the Cossacks chusing 
not to make any holes in their clothes. The situ- 
ation of the K is really to be lamented, not- 
withstanding he wears a crown. He is an honest, 
virtuous man, and a friend to the rights of man- 
kind. I wish we could persuade a prince of my 
acquaintance, who is taught, (as far as he can be 
taught any thing,) to hate them, to exchange with 
him. I know a nation that could spare a whole fa- 
mily, mother, and all to the Poles, and only take in 
exchange this one man. I could say many things 
on this subject, digna literas nos^risy sed non com- 
mittenda ejusmodi periculo^ ut aut interire, cut 
apeririy aut intercipi possmt. 

I hope your kindness has not entailed any trou- 
ble upon you with respect to my affairs. 1 hope 
Mr. Ayre has been punctual in his payment. I 
wrote to him from London, acquainting him with 
your powers. If you should pass by Mr- Hoares, 
I beg you will tell him, that I wrott to him from 
Munich, requesting him to send me, if possible, a 
letter of credit to Warsaw, and to give credit to a 
Captain William Spey, for surveying my land in 
St. John's. How does the hallowed Juliet ? It is 
inconceivable how deeply I am interested for the 
success and weliare of that girl. If she does not 
succeed, let her murry me, and settle in America. 
My respects to Mrs. Coleman, and that^ 

I am, most sincerely. 
Dear Cokman, 

With the warmest affection, &c. 

C. LEE, 



249 

P. S. My love to Rice, that when he can find 
time and matter I wisL he would write. What 
will give me the greatest pleasure is to hear of his 
being married to the widow Wales, or to any good 
party. He is the only Jijie gentleman I ever loved. 
Direct to me Chez le Prifice General de PodoliUj 
Farsovia. Let your letters be as long as possible, 
and let them have in them as much of Juliet as 
possible. 



Warsaw, May id, 1T67. 
Dear Madait, 

X SHOULD write to you with more ease and 
pleasure, had you not given me to understand 
that you looked upon mc as an able letter- writer. 
The ambition of coming up to your expectations 
lays me under a constraint which will enevitably 
make me fall short of every correspondent. To 
render myself tolerable I must endeavour to for- 
get your sex, your beauty ; but above all, the 
high opinion which you are pleased to conceive 
of my talents in this article. That I may not run 
into compliment, that I may divest myself of awe 
and vanity : the first you would despise as ful- 
some, and the second and last would be productive 
of reserve and petulance. 

Your understanding and the care you have ta- 
ken to cultivate it, cuts me off" from some of the 
most fruitful subjects to female correspondents ; 
the dress, intrigues, and diversions of the women 
in the several places we pass through ; but, on 
the other hand, it affords me ample liberty of 
pouring out my mind upon subjects which, un- 
fortunately for my own ease, engross it entirely ; 
the dreadful situation of all the honest part of man- 
kind, and particularly of our own countr^^ How 



250 

miserably fallen she is in the eyes of every state ! 
How sunk are we (i'; a few months I may say) 
from the summit of glory, opulence, and strength, 
to the lowest degree of poverty, imbecillity, and 
contempt. Europe is astonished at the rapidity of 
the change ; high and low, men of every order, 
from the ministers of state to the political barbers, 
mi ke it the subject of their admiration. How can 
it happen, say they, that Great Britain, so lately 
the mistress of the globe, with America in one 
hand, Asia and Africa in another, instead of the 
glorious task of giving laws and peace to nations, 
protecting the weak and injured, checking the 
powerful and oppressive, should employ her time 
in trampling on the rights of her dependencies, 
and violating her own sacred laws, on vi^hich her 
superiority over her neighbours is founded ? It 
was some consolation, say they, for the generous 
few of the Romans who survived the liberties of 
their country, that it was a Julius Caesar, a man 
with more than mortal talents, who was their 
subverter ; and the patriots of England had some 
mitigation for their spleen, that it was a Crom- 
well who had over-reached them ; but that 

7^ >T^ 7N" ^ ^ ^ vfr Tfr 

should be able to encompass the enslaving of a 
spirited nation, whose every law seems dictated 
by Liberty herself, is too much to bear. They 
compare the noble remonstrances of the French 
parliaments against the oppressions of their court, 
with the slavish addresses of ours. I must confess, 
that instead of sending for cooks and hair-dressers 
from that country, I have long wished that we 
were to supply ourselves with members of parlia- 
ment. What it will come to, I know not, but it is 
time something should be done, and I flatter my- 
self it will : there is much spirit in the body of 



251 

the people ; but I will endeavour to quit this sub- 
ject ; it makes me mad. 

This country is the reverse of ours ; they have 

an honest, patriot k g, but a vicious nation. 

If God delights in seeing a virtuous man (as Se- 
neca supposes he does) struggling with adversi- 
ties, he has a charming spectacle in the king of 
Poland : and I hope God will, in the end, recom- 
pense the instrument of his pleasure, by extrica- 
ting him out of his distresses ; nothing else can, 
I am sure. You must excuse me entering into a 
detail of these difficulties, as this letter may pos- 
sibly fall into the hands of the Confederates, and 
be published to the nation, as several others, full 
as insignificant, have already been, to the no small 
detriment of this good man's affairs. I shall re- 
serve them for some future letter, or our evenings 
chat in Queen Anne Street, or Langham, 

Our station here, I mean those who are about 
the king's person, is whimsical enough. We 
have few troops, the bulk of these totally disaf- 
fected, and the town is full of (though not decla- 
red, far from being concealed) Confederates. — 
We have frequent alarms, and the pleasure of 
sleeping every night with our pistols on our pil- 
lows. I at present only wait for an opportunity 
to join the Russian army : this does not offer eve- 
ry day, as a strong escort is necessary, the commu- 
nications being filled with banditties of robbers, 
who are the offals of the Confederates. I believe 
it will be but a ridiculous campaign, something 
like that of Wilks and Talbot. The Russians 
can gain nothing by beating their enemy, and the 
Turks are confoundedly afraid. 

I have heard of Lady S h's flight. I can- 
not say I ever liked the match. • It is impossible 
to have the least connection with Fox, either of a 



252 

political or a private nature, without smarting 
for it : every thing he touches becomes putrid 
and prostitute. I hope your brother will have 
the grace to break this accursed connection, which 
has diverted such excellent parts from their true 
use, blasted all the hopes which his real friends 
and his country had a right to entertain of him ; 
that he will see, in its proper colours, the odious- 
ness of dependency and venality, particularly in 
a man of fortune; and that he may, by his future 
conduct, make an ample recompense to the opu- 
lent county which has chose him for their hither- 
to disappointment. I am convinced you will not 
tbink Avhat I am saying as too great a liberty with 
your brother ; I am convinced your sentiments 
correspond with mine ; if I thought they did not, 
I solemnly declare, were your beauty and under- 
standing greater than they are, I would not write 
to you. I have no doubt of Mr. Blake's doing 
his duty. He is not only well-disposed himself, 
but in the hands of one who might transform a 
Maccaroni into a Cato. He must be the devil 
himself whom a young, beautiful, English woman, 
with the sentiments of a Spartan matron, cannot 
lead into the ways of political righteousness. If 
women in general were like you, men could not 
possibly be such rascals. I have long lamented 
the accursed prevailing notion that women ought 
to have defective educations. It was the most 
cunning fiend in hell who first broached this doc- 
trine ; which, had it not prevailed, the better 
part of the globe would not have groaned in the 
wretched state of slavery we at present see it. 
For God's sake. Madam, have as many daughters 
as possible, and make them as much like yourself 
as possible, and some descendant of Catherine 



25J 

M'Cauley may attribute the salvation of the state 
to your progeny. 

I am, dear Madam, with the highest esteem, 
Yours, ^c. 

CHARLES LEE. 
Mrs. M'Cauley. 



IVarsaw, May hlh, 1757. 
Dear Louisa, 

W HEN you first requested me to give you les- 
sons in English, I esteemed myself happy to de- 
monstrate my gratitude to Madam Kreithin for 
her singular kindness to me. I have been so 
used to convers witii myself and a few favour- 
ite books, that I never found it necessary to at- 
tend the toilets of women, merely as the generali- 
ty do, to fly from themselves, and kill the time 
Vv^hich they have no other means of employing. 
This was my original motive ; but on one or 
two conversations with my scholar, I entertained 
a sort of ambition of adding something to the 
means of enlightening so excellent an understand- 
ing as I perceived her to be possessed of. A 
little knowledge of the English language I concei- 
ved to be one of the means, as it abounds with so 
many excellent and instructing books. For a few 
days my views were confined to this ; but, O Lou- 
isa ! you ought, you must,have seen this ambition 
giving place to another less tranquil sentiment. 
Why did you not check it in its birth, by aifect- 
ing to find difficulties in the task you had under- 
taken ? Why did you not, on some such humane 
pretext, remove me from your side before the 
flame had acquiredsuch inextinguishablefierceness? 
This you should in charity have done, as you 
was determined to treat me as an enemy the 

Y 



254 

moment I declared I loved. Your resentment at 
my pretending to more than common friendship, 
is futile and vain, or, what is worse, hypocritical 
and deceitful. You know your own charms, your 
own powers too well. You have proved them 
with an unhappy success on several, not to be con- 
scious that it is impossible to see you often, and 
to hear your voice, without being forced beyond 
the bounds of friendship. But, to speak proud- 
ly, I do not see why the declaration of my pas- 
sion should so heniously offend you. To inspire 
you with an equal passion for an object destitute 
of any kind of charm, would be ridiculous pre- 
sumption: and were I furnished with every charm 
that could captivate womankind, to entertain any 
hopes which might affect your happiness, or re- 
putation, would be the highest villainy; but as 
I am born of a reputable family, I hope my cha- 
racter is rather a fair one ; and as my fortune is 
sufficiently ample to make an honest man indepen- 
dent and an honest woman content, 1 cannot sec 
the mighty crime in wishing to unite your for- 
tune with mine. I had flattered myself, that time 
and an unwearied attention to please, would have 
supplied in me what you might find amiss in my 
person or the arts of conversation. 

I am, dear Louisa, with much esteem. 
Yours, &c. 

CHARLES LEE. 
To Louisa C 



Warsaw, Mai/,ith i767. 
My DEAR Lord, 

A WROTE a sort of scrap of a note to you by 
the hands of Fawkner, and flattered myself that I 
should have found at this place a scrap in return. 



255 

I know your indolence too well, to except a letter 
of a sheet of paper, and do not exact it ; but if 
you knew how much pleasure a scrap signed by 
your hand, certifying your health, welfare, and 
good spirits affords me, I atn confident you would 
from time to time muster up resolution, to write 
me a few lines, three will be sufficient, which I in- 
sist on, as a tribute due to friendship, which on my 
side I can affirm to be as pure and genuine as the 
spawn of such a rascally planet as this is capable 
of; and I have the strongest reason to think it is 
not less so on yours. I must therefore repeat it, 
that I expect a tribute of this sort every fifth or 
sixth post. I have been in this happy capital five 
weeks, waiting for an opportunity to join the Rus- 
sian army, which does not offer every day, for the 
communications are filled by a set of gentlemen 
who are called Confederates, but why or wherefore 
they are pleased to stile themselves Confederates, I 
cannot find out. They give no reasons, they pro- 
pose no plan, but they rob, strip, and generally 
murder every body who fall into their hands. 

You used to dine formerly with very knowing, wise 
politicans, suchasHans, Stanley, and others, who are 
acquainted with all the schemes of all the nations, 
and all the individuals in Europe ; I would request 
you, to give me some hints of what these worthies 
intend : You will scarcely believe me serious, but 
I do assure you, that I knew, before I left London, 
the state of this country, full as well, if not better 
than I do here on the spot. If Gates is in the way 
you will much oblige me in procuring his opin- 
ion. I have greater reason every day to congra- 
tulate my prudence in having left England ; I am 
persuaded, had I stayed, I should have brought 
myself into some cursed scrape ; even here, at so 
great a distance, I am thrown into strange agitations 



256 

of passion on the sight of every newspaper. Hea- 
venly God ! is it possible we should be so far sunk? 
to return solemn thanks for a manifestly corrupt 
dissipation of such enormous revenues, and an im- 
pudent demr.nd on the public to repair this dissipa- 
tion, is pushing servility to its ultimatum. Those 
nations who have the least idea of liberty, as the 
Austrians and Russians, laugh and hoot at us ; 
compare, say they, the remonstrances of the French 
parliaments with the addresses of yours, and then 
dare to pride yourselves in the superiority of Bri- 
tish spirit over their neighbours. It is impossible 
to make the least reply to these charges, Ichoak with 
grief and indignation. When I attempt to assure 
tliem that the body of the nation is still untainted, 
that they have still sentiments of freedom ; they 
answer,, that such sentiments are of little conse- 
quence, when courage is wanting to put them ia 
motion. Is not every of your most boasted laws 
trampled upon, or eluded ? Is not perjury, de- 
solation, and murder, encouraged and rewarded 
with the national money ? Are not your magis- 
trates, from the sole merit of being declared ene- 
mies of the law, become factious partizans ? Is 
not the choice of your people in their representa- 
tives, treated with contempt and annulled? Are 
not your citizens massacred in the public streets 
and in the arms of their household gods by the 
military, and the military thanked for theirfriend- 
like alertness? If these things are borne with by 
a people, who possess sentiments of liberty, we 
have lost the meaning of words. Such, my dear 
Lord, is the language of these people, and it is for- 
tunate for me, that they are ignorant of the state 
of our American politics. They can have no idea 
of our carrying our abominations so far, as to dis- 
franchise three millions of people of all the rights 



257 

of men, for the gratification of the revenge of a 
bhinclering knavish Secretary, and a scoundrel 
Attorney General, a Hillsborough, and a Barnard. 
Were they informed of these faots their opinion 
of us would be still more mortifying, I had the 
other day a conversation with the gendeman to 
whom you gave the horse ; he laments, with great 
energy, the weak and wicked conduct of our ad- 
ministration, not only on our own account, but on 
that of all Europe. He says, did they barely pos- 
sess common sense, and common honesty, Great 
Britain must have been the Empress of the World; 
that she might have kept on the muzzles of the 
dogs of war, which must now inevitably be slip- 
ped off, to the devastation of the greater part of the 
globe. He desires his respects to you, and thanks 
you again and again for the horse which turns out 
nobly. I beg my compliments to Lady Thanet, 
and was in hopes to have heard that she had before 
this, produced you a son. Adieu, my dear Lord, 
and write soon a few lines to one who sincerely 
loves you. 

C. LEE. 
Lord Thanet. 



Most gracious Sir, 



A.S an express is this evening dispatched by the 
governor, I take the liberty of addressing this 
scribble to your Majesty. As it is in English, I am 
in hopes no bad consequences can arise, if it falls 
into the hands of the Confederates. Your Majesty 
will have heard of our retreat — a thousand reasons 
will undoubtedly be given, and pxooabJy not one 
founded in justice; I must, it is my duiy, to speak 
freely to your Majesty. The operations have been 
Y 2 



258 

miserably concluded; they opened with a capital 
defect — without a certainty of the state of the 
place, (Chotzim,) they were destined to attack it ; 
they with infinite fatigue and expence marched to 
the certain, (in idea,) reduction of it, without the 
possible means of reducing it. Chotzim is per- 
haps as secure from assult, as any fortress in the 
universe ; but must inevitably be taken, when at- 
tacked with the necessary quantity of battering 
artillery, in forty hours. The hopes of reducing 
it, with our pop guns soon appeared vain ; it was 
then seemingly determined to blockade it, but the 
line of blockade was either broken in part, or to- 
tally taken away on every alarm. When the 
blockade was formed, the grand Vizier was expect- 
ed with an hundred and fifty thousand men. If 
that number was formidable, they ought not to 
have formed the blockade, but retired at once over 
the Niester, without harassing for nopurpose, their 
men and their horses. If it was not formidable, 
they ought to have persisted in the blockade. In 
fact, the Russian army, I mean the infantry, brave 
as it is, V was not sufficient in number to form a 
line complete of circumvallation, against so nume- 
rous an enemy ; but neither the marching without 
battering cannon, the blockading the place without 
a resolution to persist in it, nor any blunder com- 
mitted, are so liable to censure, as the neglect to 
attack them in their camp. If success in war can 
be assured, ours was certainly so. 

I am', 
With the hijvhest respect and attachment, 
Your Majesty's most obedient and 
humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 

To 



My dear Davers, 



259 

Dijon, Jan. 19//^, 1T68. 



X HOUGH I have been a long time in answer- 
ing your letter, I beg you will not conclude, that 
the pleasure 1 received from it, is but small. Be- 
lieve me, that every fresh assurance of your friend- 
ship gives me unspeakable satisfaction, though I 
have no need of fresh assurances to be convinced 
of it. The longer I live, my love for you, acquires 
greater force, perhaps from a cynical disposition, in 
comparing you with other men. I have long been 
acquainted with your private virtues, and my opi- 
nion of your political virtues is now confirmed. 
I am only concerned at your having thoughts of 
quitting parliament. I know your reasons, but 
cannot approve of them. You think, that as you 
are not a speaker, as you have no turn for busi- 
ness, your attendance will little avail ; that it can- 
not contribute to stem the torrent of corruption 
and villainy which at present bears down every 
thing before it. It is this indolent or despairing 
method of reasoning, of many honest men, for I 
cannot help being persuaded that there are still 
many honest men, that have reduced us to this 
terrible situation. You know that the God of the 
Jews who should have been a judge of Jewish af- 
fairs, as he interfered in them so much, was of 
opinion that five righteous men were sufficient to 
save the rotten state of Gomorrah ; and 1 do not 
find that he meant they should be all speakers. 
Besides, the mass of the people of Gomorrah was 
all polluted, but the mass of the English peo- 
ple certainly is not. I believe no people was ever 
possessed of more pubhc virtue, which is manifest 
from all their proceedings. I beg, my dear friend, 
you will not in despair quit the deck and get un- 
der hatches—work at the pump — hand a rope, 



260 



doing any thing with good will and firmness — en- 
courage others to do the same, and with so intre- 
pid a pilot, as Sir George Saville, the vessel may 
perhaps work into harbour, notwithstanding 
the abominable treason of the major part of the 



crew. 



Sir C. Da vers. 



My Lord, 



I am yours, &c. 

C. LEE. 



Philadelphia, October l^th, 1774. 



Jl he noble part your Lordship has acted in op- 
posing all the diabolical measures of our accursed 
misrulers has encouraged me to address these few 
lines to you. Men who are embarked in the glo- 
rious cause of liberty should wave all ceremony. 
I shall therefore neither trouble you, nor myself 
with making apologies. Inclosed I send your 
grace a copy of the different resolves of the Con- 
gress, (though it is probable you may have recei- 
ved them before,) their address to the people of 
England, to the people of English America, to the 
people of Canada, and to the King. They argue 
so irresistibly, and they breathe so noble an ardor, 
that if there is the least understanding remaining 
in your island,, and the least virtue latent, the for- 
mer must be convinced, and the latter roused to 
action. What could put it into our blockheads 
heads, that these people could be tricked out of 
their liberties by their cunning, or bullied by any 
force which they can send over ? What devil of 
nonsense could instigate any man of General Gage's 
understanding to concur in bringing about this 
delusion ? I have lately, my lord, run through 
almost the whole colonies, from the South to the 



261 

North. I have conversed with all orders of men 
from the first estated gentlemen to the poorest 
planters, and cannot express my astonishment at 
the good sense and general knowledge, which per- 
vades the whole ; but their elevated principles, their 
enthusiasm in the cause of freedom and their 
country, is still more admirable. 

I think I should not be guilty of exaggeration 
in asserting, that there are two hundred thousand 
strong bodied active yeomanry, ready to encounter 
all hazards and dangers, ready to sacrifice all consi- 
derations rather than surrender a tittle of the rights 
which they have derived from God and their an- 
cestors : But this is not all, they are not like the 
yeomanry of other countries, unarmed andunused 
to arms ; but they are all furnished and all expert 
in the use. They want nothing but somearrange- 
ment, and this they are now bent on establishing. 
Virginia, Rhode Island, and Carolina are form- 
ing corps : Massachusetts Bay has long had a suffi- 
cient number instructed to become instructive to 
the rest ; even this Quakering province is follow- 
ing the example. I was present at a review of some 
of their companies at Providence in Rhode Island, 
and really never saw any thing more perfect ; in 
short, unless the banditti at Westminster speedily 
undo every thing they have done, their royal pay- 
master will hear of reviews and manoeuvres not 
quite so entertaining as those he is presented with 
in Hyde Park and Wimbledon Common. 

I must now, my dear Lord, hasten to the main 
purpose of this letter : As your Lordship is justly 
consideredas one of the most strenuous advocates 
and patrons of this country, and one of the most 
active assertors of the rights of mankind, I must 
beg leave to propose to you, what, had you advert- 
ed to, I am persitaded you would have already 



262 

adopted ; it is to set on foot a subscription for a 
reliti or an indemnification for the brave sufierers 
of Boston. These people's sufferings and merit 
are so transcendent, that men less animated with 
sentiment and public spirit than your Lordship, 
would exert themselves in their cause, A town 
consisting of thirty thousand people, perhaps of 
more ease and affluent circumstances than any 
other town of the world, reduced at one stroke to 
beggary and wretchedness ; every individual of 
them deprived of the means of supplying them- 
selves with a morsel of bread, butwhatis furnish- 
ed to them by the precarious hand of charity ; to 
see a whole people struggling with the extreme of 
distress, not only magnanimously, but cheerfully, 
rather than comply with the wishes of brutal ty- 
rants, and thereby admit precedents injinious to 
mankind and posterity, is, I say, a strain of vir- 
tue almost too bright for modern eyes to gaze at ; 
and must fill every breast, not totally dead to sen- 
timent and feeling, with rage, indignation, horror, 
and compassion. But they went further ; they 
made a formal offer to the Congress, to abandon 
their town, with their wives, children, aged, and 
infirm, throw themselves on the charity of the in- 
habitants of the country, or build huts in the 
woods and never revisit their native walls, until re- 
established in the full possession of their rights 
and liberties. Your Lordship will see the Con- 
gress's resolve on this head : These instances, I am 
sure, render imnecessary any thing I could say to 
incite a man of your Grace's stamp to exertions in 
their favour, or, more properly, in favour and sup- 
port of human virtue. I should be very happy in 
receiving a couple of lines in answer ; it must be 



263 

directed for me, at Richard Penn, Esq. at Phila- 
delphia. 

I am, my Lord, your Grace's 

true friend, admirer, and 

humble servant, 

C. LEE. 
To his Grace the Duke of— . 



Philadelphia, Jxme 7, 1775 . 
My dear Sir, 

* ▼ E have had twenty different accounts of your 
arrival at Boston, which have been regularly con- 
tradicted the next morning ; but as 1 now find it 
certain that you are arrived, I shall not delay a sin- 
gle instant addressing myself to you. It is a duty 
I owe to the friendship I have long and sincerely 
professed for you ; a friendship to which you have 
the strongest claims from the first moment of our 
acquaintance. There is no man from whom I 
have received so many testimonies of esteem and 
afifection ; there is no man whose esteem and af- 
fection could, in my opinion, have done me great- 
er honour. I intreat and conjure you, therefore, 
my dear sir, to impute these lines, not to a petulent 
itch of scribbling, but to the most unfeigned solici- 
tude for the future tranquillity of your mind, and 
for your reputation. I sincerely lament the infa- 
tuation of the times, when men of such a stamp 
as Mr. Burgoyne and Mr. Howe can be seduced 
into so impious and nefarious a service by the arti- 
fice of a wicked and insidious court and cabinet. 
You cannot but recollect their manoeuvres in your 
own select committee, and the treatment yourself 
as president received from these abandoned men. 
You cannot but recollect the black business of St. 
Vincents, by an opposition to which you acquired 



264 

the highest and most deserved honour. T shall not 
trouble you with my opinion of the right of tax- 
ing America without her own consent, as I am 
afraid from what I have seen of your speeches, 
that you have already formed your creed on this 
article; but I will boldly affirm, had this right been 
established by a thousand statutes, had America 
admitted it from time immemorial, it would be the 
duty of every good Englishman to exert his utmost 
to divest parliament of this right, as it must inevi- 
tably work the subversion of the whole empire. 
The malady under which the state labours, is in- 
disputably derived from the inadequate represen- 
tation of the subject, and the vast pecuniary influ- 
ence of the Crown. 

To add to this pecuniary influence and incom- 
petency of representation, is to insure and preci- 
pitate our destruction. To wish any addition, can 
scarcely enter the heart of a citizen who has the 
least spark of public virtue, and who is at the 
same time capable of seeing consequences the 
most immediate. I appeal, sir, to your own con- 
science, to your experience and knowledge of our 
court and parliament, and I request you to lay 
your hand upon your heart, and then answer with 
your usual integrity and frankness, whether, on the 
supposition America should be abject enough to 
submit to the terms imposed, you think a single 
guinea raised upon her would be applied to the 
purpose, (as it is ostentaciously held out to deceive 
the people at home,) of easing the mother coun- 
try ? Or whether you are not convinced that the 
whole they could e xtract, would be applied solely 
to keep up still further the enormous fund for cor- 
ruption which the Crown already possesses, and of 
which a most diabolical use is made. On these 
principles, I say, sir, every good Englishman, ab- 



265 

stracted of all regard for America, must oppose 
her being taxed by the British parliament ; for my 
own part, I am convinced that no argument, (not 
totally abhorrent from the spirit of liberty, and the 
British constitution,) can be produced in support 
of this right. But it would be impertinent to trou- 
ble you upon a subject which has been so amply, 
and, in my opinion, so fully discussed. I find by 
a speech given as yours in the public papers, that 
it was by the King's positive command you em- 
barked in this service. I am somewhat pleased 
that it is not an office of your own seeking, though, 
at the same time, I must confess that it is very 
alarming to every virtuous citizen, when he sees 
men of sense and integrity, (because of a certain 
profession,) lay it down as a rule implicitly to obey 
the mandates of a court, be they ever so flagitious. 
It furnishes, in my opinion, the best argument for 
the total reduction of the army. But I am run- 
ning into a tedious essay, whereas I ought to con- 
fine myself to tlie main design and purpose of this 
letter, which is to guard you and 5' our colleagues 
from those prejudices which the same miscreants, 
^,vho have infatuated General Gage and still sur- 
round him, will labour to instil into you against a 
brave, loyal, and most deserving people. The 
avenues of truth will be shut up to you. I assert, 
sir, that even General Gage will deceive you, as 
he has deceived himself; I do not say he will do 
k designedly ; I do not think him capable : But 
his mind is so totally poisoned, and his understand- 
ing so totally blinded by the society of fools and 
knaves, that he no longer is capable of discerning 
facts as manifest as noon day sun, I assert, sir, 
that his letters to the ministry, (at least, such as the 
public have seen,) are one continued tissue of mis- 
representation, injustice, and tortured inferences 
z 



266 

from mistatecl facts. I affirm, sir, that he has ta- 
ken no pains to inform himself of the truth ; that 
he has never conversed with a man who has had 
the courage or honesty to tell him the truth. I 
am apprehensive that you and your colleagues 
may fall into the same trap, and it is the apprehen- 
sion that you may be inconsiderately hurried by 
the vigour and activity you posi^ess into measures 
which may be fatal to many innocent individuals, 
may hereafter wound your own feelings, and 
which cannot possibly serve the cause of those 
who sent you, that has prompted me to address 
these lines to you. I most devoutly wish, that 
your industry, valour and military talents, may be 
reserved for a more honourable and virtuous ser- 
vice, against the natural enemies of your country, 
(to whom our Court are so basely complacent,) 
and not be wasted in ineffectual attempts to rediice 
to the wretchedest state of servitude, the most me- 
ritorious part of your fellow subjects. I say, sir, 
that any attempts to accompHsh this purpose must 
be ineffectual. You cannot possibly succeed. No 
man is better acquainted with the state of this con- 
tinent than myself. I have ran through almost 
the whole colonies from the north to the south, 
and from the south to the north. I have conver- 
sed with all orders of men, from the first estated 
gentlemen, to the lowest planters and farmers, and 
can assure you that the same spirit animates the 
whole. Not less than one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand gentlemen, yeomen, and farmers, are now in 
arms, determined to preserve their liberties or per- 
ish. As to the idea that the Americans are defi- 
cient in courage, it is too ridiculous and glaringly 
false to deserve a serious refutation. I never 
could conceive upon what this notion was found- 
ed. I served several campaigns in America the 



267 

last vvar, and cannot recollect a single instance of 
ill behaviour in the provincials, where the regu- 
lars acquitted themselves well. Indeed we well 
remember some instances of the reverse, particu- 
larly where the late Colonel Grant, (he who lately 
pledged himself for the general cowardice of 
America,) ran away with a large body of his own 
regiment, and was saved from destruction, by the 
valour of a few Virginians. Such preposterous 
arguments are only proper for the Rigbys and 
Sandwichs, from whose mouths never issued, and 
to whose breast, trudi and decency are utter stran- 
gers. You will much oblige me in communica- 
ting this letter to General Howe, to whom I could 
wish it should be considered in some measure ad- 
dressed ; as well as to yourself. Mr. Howe is a 
man for whom I have ever had the highest love 
and reverence. I have honoured him for his own 
connections, but above all, for his admirable talents 
and good qualities. I have courted his acquaint- 
ance and friendship, not only as a pleasure, but as 
an ornament ; I flattered myself that 1 had obtained 
it. Gracious God ! is it possible that Mr. Howe 
should be prevailed upon to accept such an office ! 
That the brother of him, to whose memory the 
much injured people of Boston erected a monu- 
ment, should be employed as one of the instru- 
ments of their destruction ! But the fashion of the 
times it seems is suchj as renders it impossible that 
he should avoid it. The commands of our most 
gracious sovereign, are to cancel all moral obliga- 
tions, to sanctify every action, even those that the 
satrap of an Eastern despot would start at. I shall 
now beg leave to say a few words with respect to 
myself and the part I act. I was bred up from my 
infancy in the highest veneration for the liberties of 
mankind in general. What I have seen of Courts 



268 

and princes, convinces me that power canrtot be 
lodged in worse hands than in theirs ; and of all 
courts I am persuaded that ours is the most corrupt, 
and hostile to the rights of humanity. I am con- 
vinced, tlii^t a regular plan has been laid, indeed 
every act oince the present accession evinces it, to 
abolish even the shadow of liberty from amongst 
us. It was not the demolition of the tea, it was 
not any other particular act of the Bostonians, or 
of the other provinces, which constituted their 
crimes ; but it is the noble spirit of liberty mani- 
festly pervading the whole continent, which has 
rendered them the objects of ministerial and royal 
vengeance. Had they been notoriously of another 
disposition, had they been homines ad servitudi?ie?}i 
paratos, they might have made as free with the 
property of the East India Company as the felo- 
nious North himself with impunity. But the lords 
of St. James's and their mercenaries of St. Ste- 
phe?is will kniiW, that as long as the free spirit of 
this great continent remains unsubdued, the pro- 
gress they can make in their scheme of universal 
despotism, will be but triflingo Hence it is, that 
they wage inexpiable war against America. In 
short, this is the last assylura of persecuted liberty. 
Here should the machinations and fury of her ene^ 
mies prevail, that bright Goddess must fly off from 
the face of the earth, and leave not a trace behind. 
These, sir, are ray principles ; this is my persua- 
sion, and consequently I am determined to act. 
I have now, sir, only to entreat, that whatever 
measures you pursue, whether those which your 
real friends (myself amongst them) would wish, or 
unfortunately those which our accursed misrulers 
shall dictate, you will still believe me to be per- 
sonallv, Avith the greatest sincerity and affection, 

Yours, &c. C, LEE. 

Gen. Burgoyne. 



269 



Bear Sib, 

y\ HEN we were last together in service I should 
not have thought it within the vicissitude of human 
affairs that we should meet at any time, or in any 
sense as foes : the letter you have honoured me 
with, and my own feelings combine to prove we 
arc far from being personally such. 

I claim no merit from the attentions you so kind- 
ly remember, but as they manifest how much it 
was my pride to be known for your friend ; Nor 
have I departed from the duties of that character, 
when I will not scruple to say, it has been almost 
a general offence to maintain it : I mean since the 
violent part you have taken in the commotions of 
the colonies. It would exceed the limits and pro- 
priety of our present correspondence to argue at 
full, the great cause in which we are engaged. 
But, anxious to preserve acon^istentandingenuous 
character, and jealous, I confess, of havhig the 
parti sustain imputed to such motives as you inti- 
mate, I will state to you as concisely as I can, the 
principles upon which, not voluntarily, but most 
conscientiously, I undertook it. 

1 have, like you, entertained from my infancy, a 
veneration for public liberty. I have likewise re- 
garded the British constitution, as the best safe- 
guard of that blessing to be found in the history of 
mankind. The vital principle of the constitution, 
in which it moves and has its being, is the supre- 
macy of the King in parliament, a compound, in- 
definite indefensible power, co-eval with the origin 
of the empire, and co-extensive overall its parts : 
I am no stranger to the doctrines of Mr. Locke 
and other of the best advocates for the rights of 
mankind, upon the compact always implied be- 
tween the governing and governed, and the right 

z 2 



270 

of resistance in the latter, when the compact shall 
be so violated as to leave no other means of redress. 
I look with reverence almost amounting to idola- 
tr}'-, upon those inmiortal men who adopted and 
applied such doctrine, during part of the reign of 
Charles the First, and in that of James the Second, 
should corruption pervade the three estates of the 
realm, so as to pervert the great ends of their in- 
stitution, and make the power vested in them for 
the good of the whole people operate like an abuse 
upon the prerogative of the Crown to general 
oppression, I am ready to acknowledge, that the 
same doctrine of resistance applies as forcibly 
against the abuses of the collective body of power, 
as against those of the Crown, or either of the 
component branches separately : still always un- 
derstood that no other means of redress can be ob- 
tained. A case, I contend, much more difficult to 
suppose when it relates to the whole, than when it 
relates to parts. But in all cases that have existed, 
or can he conceived, I hold, that resistance, to be 
justifiable, must be directed against the usurpation 
or undue exercise of power, and that it is most 
criminal when directed against any power itself in- 
herent in the constitution. 

And here } ou will discern immediately why I 
drew a line m the allusion I made above to the 
reign of Charles the First. Towards the close of 
it the true principle of resistance was changed, and 
anew system of government projected accordingly. 
The patriots, previous to the long parliament, and 
during great part of it, as well as the glorious Re- 
volutionists of 1681, resisted to vindicate and re- 
store the constitution ; the republicans resisted, to 
subvert it. 

Now, sir, lay your hand upon your heart, as 
you have enjoined me to do on mine, and tell me. 



271 

to which of these purposes do the proceedings of 
America tend? Is it the weight of taxes imposed, 
and the possibiHty of relief after due representation 
of her burthens, that has induced her to take up 
arms? Or is it a denial of the legislative right of 
Great Britain, to impose them, and consequently 
a struggle for total independency ? For this idea of 
a power that can tax externally and not internally, 
and all the sophistry that attends it, though it may 
catch the weakness and prejudices of the multi- 
tude in a speech or a pamphlet, is too preposterous 
to weigh seriously with a man of your understand- 
ing, and I am persuaded you will admit the ques- 
tion fairly put. 

Is it then for a relief from taxes? or from the 
controul of parliament '* in all cases whatsoever," 
that we are in war? If, for the former, the quarrel 
is at an end. There is not a man of sense and in- 
formation in America, who does not sec it is in the 
power of the colonies to obtain a relinquishment 
of the exercise of taxation immediately and for 
ever. I boldly assert it, because sense and infor- 
mation must also suggest to every man, that it 
can never be the interest of Britain to make a se- 
cond trial. 

But if the other ground is taken, and it is in- 
tended to wrest from Great Britain a link of that 
substantial, and I hope, perpetual chain, by which 
the empire holds, think it not a ministerial man- 
date ; think it not a mere professional ardour ; 
think it not prejudice against any part of our fel- 
low subjects, that induces men of integrity, and 
among such you have done me the honour to class 
me, to act with vigour. But be assured it is con- 
viction, that the whole of our political system de- 
pends upon preserving entire its great and essential 
parts ; and none is so great and essential as the su- 



272 

premacy of legislation. It is conviction, that as 
the king of England never appears in so glorious a 
capacity as when he employs the executive power 
of the state to maintain the laws, so in the present 
exertions of that power, his Majesty is particularly 
entitled to our zeal and grateful obcdienjpe, not on- 
ly as soldiers, but as citizens. 

These principles, depend upon it, actuate the 
army and fleet throughout : arid let mc at the 
same time add, there are few, if any, gentlemen 
among us who would have drawn his sword in the 
cause of slavery. But why do I confine myself 
to the fleet and army? I affirm the sentiments I 
here touch, to be those of the great bulk of the 
nation. I appeal even to those trading towns 
which are sufferers by the dispute, and the city of 
London at the head of them, notwithstanding the 
petitions and remonstrances that the arts of par- 
ties and factions have extorted from some indivi- 
duals ; and last, because least in your favour, I 
appeal to the m?rjorities of the last year upon 
American questions in parliament. The most 
licentious news- writer wants assurance to call these 
majorities ministerial ; much less will you, when 
you impardally examine the characters of which 
they were in a great degree composed ; men of 
the most independent principles and fortunes, and 
many of them professedly in opposition in their 
general line of conduct. 

Among other supporters of British rights against 
American claims, I will not speak positively, but 
I firmly believe, I may name the men of whose 
integrity and judgment you have the highest opin- 
ion, and whose friendship is nearest your heart ; I 
mean Lord Thanet, from whom my aid de camp 
has a letter for you, with another from Sir C. Da- 
vers. I do not inclose them because the writers 



273 

(little imagining how difficult your conduct would 
render our intercourse) desired they might be de- 
livered into your hands. 

For this purpose, as well as to renew " the rights 
of our fellowship," I wish to see you ; and, above 
all, I should think an interview happy if it induced 
such explanations as might tend, in their conse- 
x]uences, to peace. I feel, in common with all 
around me, for the unhappy deluded bulk of this 
country : they foresee not the distress that is im- 
pending. I know Great Britain is ready to open 
her arms upon the first reasonable overtures of ac- 
commodation : I know she is equally resolute to 
maintain her original right ; and 1 also know, that 
if the war proceeds, your hundred and fifty thou- 
sand men will be no match for her po\ver. I put 
my honour to these assertions as you have done 
to others ; and I claim the credit I am willing to 
give. 

The place I would propose for our meeting, is 
the house on Boston Neck, just within our ad- 
vanced sentries, called Brown's House : I wili 
obtain authority to give you my parole of honour 
for your secure return. I shall expect the same 
on your part, that no insult be offered me. If the 
proposal is agreeable to you, name your day and 

hour : and at all events, accept a sincere 

return of the assurances you honour me with, and 
believe me, Affectionately yours, 

J. BURGOYNE. 

p. S. I have been prevented, by business, an- 
swering your letter sooner. I obeyed your com- 
mands in regard to General Howe and Clinton ; 
and I likewise communicated to Lord Percy the 
contents of your letter and my answer. They all 
join with me in compliments, and authorise me\ 
to assure you they do the same in principles. 



274 



Cambridge, Head Quarlcrs, July iith, 1775. 

Iteneral Lee's compliments to General Bur- 
goyne : would be extremely happy in the inter- 
view he so kindly proposed ; but as he perceives, 
that General Burgoyne has already made up his 
mind on this great subject, and that it is impossi- 
ble that he (General Lee) should ever alter his 
opinion, he is apprehensive that the interview 
might create those jealousies and suspicions so 
natural to a people struggling in the dearest of all 
causes, that of their liberty, property, wives, chil- 
dren, and their future generations. He must, 
therefore, defer the happiness of embracing a man 
whom he most sincerely loves, until the subver- 
sion of the present tyrannical ministry and system, 
which he is persuaded must be in a few months, 
as he knows Great Britain cannot stand the con- 
test. He begs General Burgoyne will send the 
letters which his aid de camp has for him. If 
Gardiner is his aid de camp, he desires his love 
to him. 



Camp on Prospect Hill, Dee, ist, 1775. 
Dear Sir, 

As I am just informed you are ready to embark 
for England, I cannot refrain from once more 
trespassing on your patience. An opportunity is 
now presented of immortalizing yourself as the 
saviour of your country. The whole British em- 
pire stands tottering on the brink of ruin, and you 
have it in your power to prevent the fatal catas- 
trophe ; but it will admit of no delay. For hea- 
ven's sake avail yourself of the precious moment: 
put an end to the delusion : exert the voice of a 
brave, virtuous citizen ; and tell the people at 



27^ 

home, that they must immediately rescind all 
their impolitic, iniquitous, tyrannical, murderous 
acts; that they must overturn the whole frantic 
system, or that they are undone. You ask me, 
in your letter, if it is independence at which the 
Americans aim? I answer, No; the idea never 
entered a single American's head, until the most 
intolerable oppression forced it upon them. All 
they required was, to remain masters of their own 
property, and be governed by the same equitable 
laws which they had enjoyed from the first forma- 
tion of the Colonies. The ties of connection 
which bound them to their parent country, were 
so dear to them, that he who would have ventur- 
ed to touch them, would have been considered as 
the most impious of mortals ; but these sacred 
ties, the same men, who have violated or baffled 
the most precious laws and rights of the people at 
home, dissipated, or refused to account for their 
treasures, tarnished the glory, and annihilated the 
importance of the nation : these sacred ties, I say, 
so dear to every American, Bute and his tory ad- 
ministration are now rending asunder. 

You ask, whether it is the weight of taxes of 
which they complain ? I answer, No : It is the 
principal they combat, and they would be guilty 
in the eyes of God and men, of the present world, 
and all posterity, did they not reject it ; for if it 
were admitted, they would have nothing that they 
could call their own ; they would be in a worse 
condition than the wretched slaves in the West 
India islands, whose little peculium has ever been 
esteemed inviolate. But, wherefore should I 
dwell on this ? Is not the case with Ireland the 
same with theirs ? They are subordinate to the 
British empire ; they are subordinate to the Par- 
liament of Great Britain, but thev tax themselves. 



2/0 

Why, as the case is similar, do you begin with 
them ? But you know, Mr. Burgoyne, audacious 
as the ministry are, they dare not attempt it. 
There is one part of your letter which, I confess I 
do not understand. If I recollect right, (for I un- 
fortunately, have not the letter by me,) you say 
that if the privilege of taxing themselves is what 
the American's claim, the contest is at an end. 
You surely cannot allude to the propositions of 
North. It is impossible that you should not think, 
with me and all mankind, that these propositions 
are no more or less than adding to a most abomi- 
nable oppression, a more abominable insult. But, 
to recur to the question of Americans aiming at 
independence : Do any instructions of any one of 
the provinces to their representatives, or delegates, 
furnish the least ground for this suspicion ? On 
the contrary, do they not all breathe the strongest 
attachment and filial piety to their parent country ? 
But if she discards all the natural tenderness of 
a mother, and acts the part of a cruel step-dame, 
it must naturally be expected that their affections 
will cease ; the ministry leave them no alternative, 
aut serviri, aut alienari jubent ; it is in human 
nature ; it is a moral obligation to adopt the latter. 
But the fatal separation has not yet taken place, 
and yourself, your single self, my friend, may 
perhaps, prevent it. Upon the ministr}^, 1 am 
afraid, you can make no impression ; for, to re- 
peat a hackneyed quotation, 

Tliey are in biood 
Stepp'd in so far, that, should they wade no more, 
To return woiihl be as tedious as go o'er. 

But, if you will at once break off all connec- 
tions with these pernicious men ; if you will wave 
all consideration, but the salvation of your coun- 
try, Great Britain may stand as much indebted to 



277 

General Burgoyne, as Rome ^vas to her Camillus. 
Do not, I entreat you, my dear sir, think 
this the mad rhapsody of an enthusiast, nor the 
cant of a factious designing man ; for, in these 
colours, I am told, I am frequently painted. I 
swear by all that's sacred, as I hope for comfort 
and honour in this world, and to avoid misery in 
the next, that I most earnestly and devoutly love 
my native country ; that I wish the same happy 
relation to subsist for ages betwixt her and her 
children, which has raised the wide arch of her 
empire to so stupendous and enviable a height; but 
at the same time I avow, that if the parliament 
and people should be depraved enough to support 
any longer the present ministry in their infernal 
scheme, my zeal and reverence for the rights of 
humanity are so much greater than my fondness 
for any particular spot, even the place of my na- 
tivity, that, had I any influence in the councils of 
America, I would advise not to hesitate a single 
instant, but decisively to cut the Gordian knot, 
now besmeared with civil blood. 

This, I know, is strong emphatic language, and 
might pass, with men who are strangers to the 
flame vvhich the love of liberty is capable of light- 
ing up in the human breast, for a proof of my insa- 
nity ; but you, sir, unless I have mistaken you 
from the beginning, will conceive, that a man, in 
his sober senses, may possess such feelings. In 
my sober senses, therefore, permit me once more 
most -earnestly to entreat and conjure you to exert 
your whole force, energy, and talents to stop the 
ministry in this their headlong career. If you 
labour in vain, (as, I must repeat, I think will be 
the case,) address yourself to the people at large. 
By adopting this method, I am so sanguine, as to 
nssure myself of your success ; and your public 

Aa 



278 

character will be as illustrious as your personal 
qualities are amiable to all who intimately know 
you. By your means the Colonists will long con- 
tinue the farmers, planters, and shipwrights of 
Great Britain ; but if the present course is per- 
sisted in, an internal divorce must inevitably take 
place. As to the idea of subduing them into ser- 
vitude, and indemnifying yourselves for the ex- 
pence, you must be convinced long before this 
of its absurdity. 

I should not, perhaps, be extravagant, if I ad- 
vanced, that all the ships of the world would be 
too few to transport force sufficient to conquer 
three millions of people, unanimously determined 
to sacrifice every thing to liberty ; l3Ut if it were 
possible, the victory would not be less ruinous 
than the defeat. You would only destroy your 
own strength. No revenue can possibly be exacted 
out of this country. The army of place-men might 
be encreased, but her circuitous commerce, foun- 
ded on perfect freedom, which alone can furnish 
riches to the metropolis, would fall to the ground. 
But the dignity of Great Britain, it seems, is at 
stake. Would you, sir, if in the heat of passion 
you had struck a single drummer of your regi- 
ment, and afterwards discovered that you had 
done it unj»stly, think it any forfeiture of your 
dignity to acknowledge the wrong ? No : I am 
well acquainted with your disposition, you would 
ask him pardon at the head of your regiment. 

I shall now conclude (if you will excuse the 
pedantry) with a sentence of Latin ; Justum est 
bellum quibus necessariiim^ et pia arrna quibus nul- 
la, nisi iji armis, relinquitur spes. I most sincerely 
wish you u quick and prosperous voyage, and 



279 

that your happiness and glory may be equal to the 
idea I have of your merits, as, 

I am, with the greatest truth and affection, 
Yours, 

CHARLES LEE. 
Major Gen. Burgoyne. 



Cambridge, ITVG. 
SiB, 

In my lelter, lately sent into Boston, all politi- 
cal disquisition was designedly avoided. 1 did 
not avail myself of the advantages which the sa- 
cred cause of my country, of liberty, and of hu- 
man nature, manifestly gave me over Mr. Gage. 
I remonstrated with you in decent terms, with 
respect to the hard and unworthy treatment shewn, 
as 1 have been informed, to the soldiers and citi- 
zens of America, whom the fortune of war, 
chance, or an erroneous opinion of your honour, 
had thrown into your hands. In answer to this 
remonstrance, we are insulted with the most out- 
rageous language, and abusive epithets. Were 
we, Sir, the worst of traitors ; had we conspired 
to subvert the liberties of our fellow subjects ; 
had we conspired to re-establish on the throne the 
expelled tyrants of the Stuart house ; or, could 
we be charged with any notorious breach of faith ; 
had we, for instance, seduced some part of the 
troops under your command, upon certain con- 
ditions, into a surrender of their arms, and after- 
wards violated our engagement, the style which 
you assume would scarcely be justifiable. 

You affect, Sir, to despise all rank not derived 
from the same source with your own : to speak, 
as I think, with becoming pride, it is impossible 
to conceive a more honourable source than that to 



280 

which I owe my present station. I was called to 
it by the voice of the freely chosen delegates of a 
A'irtuous and uncorrupt people. Yours, for ought 
I know, and, as I am told, is frequently the case, 
might have been obtained by connections with 
some prostitute part of a prostitute House of 
Commons. 

You threaten us. Sir, with a cord : Begin, Sir ; 
I dare you to it. Although my nature shudders 
at the thought, necessity will force us to retaliate ; 
and we have it in our power, Mr. Gage, to make 
'a ten-fold retaliation. 

You have the confidence to appeal to that 
Almighty God whose every law you have violated. 
Let that x\lmighty God, to whom the rights and 
happiness of his creatures cannot be indifferent, 
j udge then between us. When the great and tre- 
mendous day shall arrive ; when all mortals arc to 
render a strict account, which, do you apprehend. 
Sir. will have the greatest reason to tremble ? 
The virtuous citizens, now forced to arms by the 
hands of tyranny ; in arms not to rob, spoil, and 
invade; not as mercenary* instruments to gratify 
the lust, ambition, avarice, or revenge of scep- 
tered robbers or wicked ministers, but to defend 
their wives, children, and household goods, and 
to deliver down to their posterity the bright inhe- 
ritance of freedom they received from their forefa- 
thers : which, I once more demand, shall, on that 
dreadful day, have the greatest reason to tremble ? 
The citizens engaged in this righteous cause, or 
those men, who by artifice, misrepresentation, and 
falsehood, have not only stained this fair continent 
with the blood of her children, but shaken the 
mighty empire of Britain to her foundation. 

1 shall now. Sir, close my correspondence with 
you, perhaps for ever, assuring you, that the in- 



281 

telligence you have received, with respect to the 
harsh treatment of the prisoners in our possession, 
is as remote from fact, as that which you have con- 
stantly transmitted to the ministry, when speak- 
ing of the principles and designs of America. 
Not only the officers and soldiers have been treated 
with the tenderness due to fellow-citizens and 
brethren, but even those execrable parricides 
born amongst us, who have aimed their daggers at 
the vitals of their parent, have been protected 
from the fury of a most justly enraged people. 

I shall now Sir, only add, that for the future, 
whatever mode of conduct you shall think proper 
to observe towards those of our people who are 
in your custody, such exactly are the ministerial- 
ists to expect in return. 
I am, Sir, 

YouF most obedient, 
Humble servant, 
Gen. Gage. C. LEE. 



Cambridge, 17T6. 
Dear Sir, 

JL LITTLE thought the time could ever arrive 
when I should not run with eagerness to embrace 
Mr. Gage. Whether it is from a cynical disposi- 
tion, or a laudable misanthropy, whether it is to my 
credit or discredit, I know not ; but it is most 
certain, that I have had a real affection for very 
few men ; but that these few I have loved with 
w^armth, zeal, and ardour. You, Sir, amongst 
these few, I swear by all that is sacred, have ever 
held one of the foremost places. I respected your 
understanding, liked your manners, and perfectly 
adored the qualities of your heart. These, Sir, 
are my reasons, paradoxical as they may appear to 
Aa 2 



282 

many, that I now avoid what I heretofore should 
have thought an happiness. Were you person- 
ally indifferent to me, I should, perhaps, from cu- 
riosity, appear in the circle of your levee ; but I 
hold in such abhorrence the conduct, temper, and 
spirit of our present court ; more particularly 
their present diabolical measures with respect to 
this country fills me with so much horror and in- 
dignation, that I cannot bear to see a man, from 
whom my affections can never be weaned, in the 
capacity of one of their instruments ; as I am con- 
vinced that the court of Tiberius, or Philip the 
Second, were not more treacherous and hostile to <■ 
the rights of mankind than the present court of | 
Great Britain. I cannot help thinking it one ofJ 
the greatest curses fallen on mankind, that they 
should be endued with sufficient art to seduce or 
delude men of the best hearts and heads. My 
Lord Chatham himself was for a time their dupe ; 
and poor York was entrapped for his destruction. 
1 believe. Sir, I know the tricks and insidiousness 
of the Cabinet better than you do. I have no 
doubt, but they were hard set to work upon you. 
May God Almighty extricate you, with honour 
and safety, from their clutches ! I know not whe- 
ther the people of America v/ill be successful in 
tlieir struggles for liberty ; I think it most probable 
they will, from what I have seen in my progress 
through the colonies. So noble a spirit pervades 
all orders of men, from the first estated j^entlemen 
to the lowest planters, that I think they must be 
victorious. I most devoutly wish they may ; for 
if the machinations of their enemies prevail, the 
bright goddess. Liberty, must, like her sister As- 
trsea, utterly abandon the earth, and leave not a 
>vreck behind. She has, by a damned conspiracy 
€f kings and ministers, been totally driven froin 



283 

the other hemisphere. Here is her last asylum ; 
here I hope she may fix her abode. 

I have now, sir, only to entreat, that as knaves 
and fools will probably, from design and mis- 
understanding, exaggerate, disfigure, and distort 
what I do, and what I say, you will be upon your 
guard, particularly when it relates to yourself. 
Though it is difficult to separate the man from the 
office, should it be reported that I ever speak of 
you in terms of disrespect, I entreat, that you will 
slight the report. I am not capable of it. A 
personal friendship for Mr. Gage has taken too 
deep root in my breast; though, wqre you my 
brother, twinned at a birth, I must wish to defeat 
the purposes of those by whose instructions Go- 
venor Gage must act. 

As to North, my opinion of him is this, (and I 
have known him a long time,) that did he hear of a 
single freeman in the remotest part of the world, 
he would willinoly put his country to the expence 
of furnishing forth an army and fleet for the sole 
pleasure of destro} ing that single freeman. I know, 
Sir, you will do me the justice to believe that I am 
not acting a part ; that no affectation has place in 
my conduct. You have known me long enough, 
I flatter myself, to be persuaded, that zeal for the 
liberties of my country and the rights of mankind, 
has been my predominant passion. May God 
Almighty bless you. Sir, and, witti honour to you, 
dissolve the spell which has charmed you into a 
situation so incompatible with the excellence of 
your natural disposition. Excuse the length, and, 
if it appears to you, the impertinence, of this epis- 
tle, and believe me, 

With great esteem, 
Yours, 

CHARLES LEE. 
Gen, Gage. 



284 

Mr DEAR PHIPps, 

X HAVE not for a long time read any per- 
formance with so much pleasure, as the para- 
graph in the public papers announcing your safe 
return. I congratulate your country, your friends, 
and particularly myself, on this happy event. As 
I most sincerely love and honour you, I should 
have been pleased, in common with all mankind, 
had your hopes and expectations been answered 
in their full extent ; but, as your individual friend, 
I am completely satisfied ; for the attempt is suf- 
ficient to immortalize you. A young man of 
your rank arid affluent circumstances, giving up 
his ease, pleasure, and connections, to encounter 
mountains, and even to risk the taking up his 
residence in the thrilling regions of thick Ribbe- 
dia, for the public benefit, would have appeared 
heroic in any age or nation ; but the inglorious 
insipid character of the present age heightens the 
lustre of the enterprize. 

Once more, my dear Phipps, I congratulate you 
and all your friends on your safe return ; and the 
honour which is your due, and which is not paid 
you at home, come to this country, vt^here your 
praises are sung daily ; but your political parlia- 
mentary conduct has the largest share of their 
panegyrick. Their opinion of your integrity, tal- 
ents, and consistency, is very high ; and I hope 
you will believe that I do not labour to weaken 
it. By all that is sacred, these are a fine people, 
liberal, enlightened, sensible and firm. Your 
Mansfields and Norths may play over their wretch- 
ed tricks, have recourse to their paltry finesses, 
may bluster and bellow, but they will never be 
able to trick or frighten these men out of their 
liberties. They are too acute and vigilant for the 



285 

fonner to avail, and much too strong for the lit- 
ter. Twelve thousand fresh colonists, half Ger- 
mans, half Irish, were imported this year into 
Philadelphia alone, and not a much less number 
into the colonies of Virginia and New- York. The 
banks of Hudson's River, of the Moliawk, Sus- 
quehannah, Juniatta, and the Ohio, from the Mo- 
nongaheia downwards thirty miles, which at the 
peace were totally a desert, are become one con- 
tinued chain of villages. Four large military- 
townships are imn^vediately to be established on the 
Missisippi. I leave you to judge, whether it will 
be easy to dragoon so numerous a people for any 
length of time. Sliips of war, it is true, may in- 
sult, and put to inconvenience some of their capi- 
tal ports ; but these teasings and insults will only 
serve to shew the absurdity of your minister's poli- 
cy in a more striking light, by giving a unanimity 
to these people equal to their eft'ectual strength, 
when they may set at defiance the machinations, 
not only of an earthly, but of the infernal potentate 
himself and his ministry. Egregious block- 
heads ! their folly increases every day ; no soon- 
er are they out of one bad scrape, but they get in- 
to a worse. 

This blessed tea project meets with a resistance 
full as vigorous, though more regular and tem- 
perate than the stamp act. The colonists, one 
and all, have entered into the most solemn obli- 
gations to send it back to its exporters, and con- 
tinue furnishing themselves from the Dutch ; so 
that by the ingenuity of our ministry, smuggling 
is rendered an-^----- - — 

Cetera desttnt. 



286 

Slamfonl, Jan. 22(i, lT7o. 



aiR, 



A-S General Washington has informed the Con- 
gress of his motives for detaching me, it is needless 
to trouble you upon the subject ; I am, therefore, 
only to inform you, that I have collected a body 
of about twelve hundred men from the colony of 
Connecticut, whose zeal and ardour, demonstrated 
on this occasion, cannot be sufficiently praised. 
With this body I am marching directly to New- 
York, to execute the different purposes for which 
I am detached. I am sensible. Sir, that nothing 
can carry the air of greater presumption, than a 
servant's intruding his opinion, unasked, upon 
his master ; but, at the same time, there are cer- 
tain seasons when the real danger of the master 
may not only excuse but render laudable, the ser- 
vant's officiousness. I therefore flatter myself that 
the Congress will receive, with indulgence and le- 
nity, the opinion I shall offer. The scheme of dis- 
arming simply the tories, seems to me totally in- 
effectual ; it will only embitter their minds and add 
virus to their venom. They can, and will, always 
be supplied with fresh arms by the enemy. That 
of seizing the most dangerous will, I apprehend, 
from the vagueness of the instruction, be attended 
\vith some bad consequences, and can answer no 
good one. It opens so wide a door for partiality 
and prejudice, to the different congresses and com- 
mittees on the continent, that much discord and 
animosity will probably ensue, it being next to im- 
possible to distinguish who are, and who are not, 
the most dangerous. The plan of explaining to 
these deluded people the justice and merits of the 
American cause, is certainly generous and humane ; 
but, I am afraid, will be fruitless. They are so ri- 



287 

Vetted in their opinions, that, I am persuaded, 
should an angel descend from heaven with his gol- 
den trumpet, and ring in their ears, that their con- 
duct was criminal, he would be disregarded. I had 
lately myself an instance of theirinfatuation, which, 
if it is not impertinent, I will relate. I took the li- 
berty, without any authority but the conviction of 
the necessity, to administer a very strong oath to 
those of Rhode Island, that they would take arms 
in defence of their country, if called upon by the 
voice of the Congress. To this Colonel Wanton, 
and others flatly refused their assent ; to take arms 
against their sovereign they said was too monstrous. 
This is not a crisis, when every thing is at stake, to 
be over compliant to the timidity of the inhabi- 
tants of any particular spot. I have now under 
my command a very respectable force adequate to 
the purpose of securing the place, and purging all 
its environs of traitors, on which subject I shall ex- 
pect, with impatience, the determination of the 
Congress ; their orders I hope to receive before 
or immediately on my arrival. 

This instant the inclosed express from the pro- 
vincial Congress of New- York, was delivered into 
my hands ; but as these gentlemen probably are 
not fully apprized of the danger hanging over their 
heads, as I have received intelligence from camp, 
that the fleet is sailed, and that it is necessary to 
urge my march, I shall proceed with one division 
of the forces under my command to that city. A 
moment's delay may be fatal. The force I shall 
carry with me is not strong enough to act offen- 
sively ; but just sufficient to secure the city against 
any designs of the enemy. If this is to give um- 
brage, if the governor and captain of the man of 
war are pleased to construe this step as an act of 
positive hostility, if they are to prescribe what 



288 

number of your troops, and what number not, 
are to enter the city, all I can say is, that New- 
York must be considered as the minister's place, 
and not the continent's. 

I must now, Sir, beg pardon for the length of 
this letter, and more so, for the presumption in of- 
fering so freely my thoughts to the Congress, from 
whom it is my duty simply to receive my orders, 
and as a servant and soldier strictly to obey, which 
none can do with greater ardor and affection than, 
Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 
CHARLES LEE. 
The Hon. John Hancock, Esq. 
Pres. of the 
Continental Congress. 

New-York, March 5lh, 1776. 
SiK, 

1. RECEIVED your commands on Sunday 
evening, and should have answered it immediately, 
but waited for the result of an application I had 
made to Waterbury's and Ward's regiment, re- 
questing them to remain here until they can be re- 
placed by a certain number of troops from Phila- 
delphia, and the Jerseys. They have ananimously 
consented to stay till the twenty-fifth of this month, 
which is a fortnight longer than the term they 
were enlisted for. Before the expiration of this 
time, I am in hopes that some measures will be ta- 
ken by the Congress for throwing into the city, its 
environs, and Long Island, a force sufficient to dis- 
pute the ground with any number of troops we 
have reason to expect ; not that I would imply 
that these two Connecticut regiments remcuning 
here would be able to prevent the landing and 



289 

lodging themselves in the Island, even five batta- 
lions of the enemy, should they chuse to attempt 
it ; but those two regiments will enable us at least 
to lay the foundation of the necessary works. I 
have ordered a regiment from the Jerseys, who 
will be here I hope in a few days. I shall not, Sir, 
trouble you with a detail of ourimended works, 
as I shall have the power of paying my respects 
in person to the Congress in a very few days, for 
on Thursday it is my intention to set out. I am in 
very little pain about the execution of what we 
have concerted, as it is committed to the hands of 
Lord Stirling, who shews much intelligence and 
activity. As this place will probably be the scene 
of a good deal of action, it would be prudent to 
add something to their present stock of ammuni- 
tion. I find by their returns, that there is in the 
whole colony, that sent up to Fort Constitution 
included, five tons and an half. 

The numerous body of professed tories in Long 
and Staten Islands, with not a few within the walls 
of the cit}' , is a most alarming consideration ; the 
measures adopted By the Provincial Congress, of 
obliging them to give bonds as a security for their 
good behaviour, can answer no purpose, but that 
of rendering them more bitter and violent. The 
first regiment of our gracious sovereign's cut- 
throats which arrive here wiii indubitably cancel 
these bonds. I am well assured, indeed, that these 
bunds are made a public joke of already, by the 
worthy gentlemen who gave them. In short, the 
friends to liberty are to a man convinced, that the 
tories will take up arms, when encouraged by the 
appearance of any royal troops. The delicacy 
of our situation, the dangerous crisis of affairs, 
have therefore determined me to take a decisive 
8tep, which alone, according to my judgment, can 

sb 



290 

secure us : 1 have proposed to ofter to these peo- 
ple a test, drawn up in such terms, that refusal or 
consent to take it, must be a criterion by which 
we may be able to distinguish those, whose swords 
are whetted to plunge into the vitals of their coun- 
trv, and whose, if not drawn in defence of the 
common rights, may be expected to remain quiet- 
ly in their scabbards. The first I have directed 
to be seized without further ceremony, and I 
should think myself highly criminal, in omitting 
so salutary a step before it is too late ; perhaps I 
judge wrong ; if I do, I must myself take the 
shame of being reputed weak, rash, and precipi- 
tate. The intelligence I have received from Ge- 
neral Washington will, at all events, justify, in 
some measure, my dispensing with forms. 
I am Sir, with the greatest respect. 
Your most obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To his Excellency the Pres. 
of the Continental Congress. 



WiUiamsburg, April 3d, 1776. 
My dear Bin, 

1 HAVE nothing of sufficient importance to 
trouble the Congress with; but shall teaze you with 
a few words ; I am exactly in the same situation I 
expected, puzzled where to go, or fix myself, 
from an uncertaint}^ of the enemy's design : I can 
therefore only act by surmise ; the general opinion 
is, that they will aim at this part of Virginia, viz. 
York and Williamsburg, or that they will fix their 
head quarters in North Carolina : it has been al- 
ready asserted, that Mr. Clinton was landed with 
one thousand five hundred men at Wilmington ; a 
letter from Brigadier Howe, dated from Edenton, 



291 

says, that it is believed, but not ascertained. I 
wait for further intelligence ; in the mean time, I 
shall employ myself in rendering this place, and 
York, as inaccessible as possible ; for it is my own 
persuasion, that they will endeavour to possess 
themselves of the capitol, not only as it is really a 
most tempting and advantageous post, from com- 
manding two rivers, and a most abundant country ; 
but it would give an air of superiority and dignity 
to their arms which in this slave-country might 
be attended with important consequences, by the 
impressions it would make in the minds of the ne- 
groes. I wish we had a couple of good regiments 
more in South Carolina, it would then be perhaps 
hors insult. The apathy of this province seems to 
§0 passidus cequis^ with that of some other provin- 
ces notwithstanding the pursuasion and assurances 
of all the officers, that the tories about Norfolk 
will most certainly repair to the King's standard, 
and have proposed means of securing them ; they 
say, such means would be violent and cruel. In 
short as your affairs prosper, the timidity of the 
senatorial part of the continent, great and small, 
grows and extends itself. By the eternal God, 
unless you declare yourselves independent, estab- 
lish a more certain and fixed legislature than that 
of a temporary courtesy of the people, you richly 
deserve to be enslaved, and I think it far from im- 
possible that it should be your lot ; as without a 
more systematical intercourse with France and 
Holland, we cannot, we have not the means of 
carrying on the war. 

Adieu, 

Yours, &c. 
C. LEE. 
To Edw. Rutledge, Esq. 

Member of the 
Continental Congress. 



Sir, 



292 

Vi'iUiamsburg, April 5/ft,1776, 



J. HE subject of this letter appearing to me of 
exceeding importance, I have resolved to dispatch 
an express to inform you that the Roebuck, a 
King's ship of forty-four guns, has for some time 
kft the Capes of Virginia, and, as we hear, is now 
lying off the Bay of Delaware, with a design to 
intercept the continental fleet. At Norfolk remain 
the Liverpool, a thirty gun frigate ; the Otter 
sloop of fourteen guns, and some tenders, together 
with a ship. Lord Dunmore on board, of little or 
no force ; and a number of vessels belonging to 
the tories, with valuable cargoes and prizes, 
am.ounting, by a reasonable estimate, to an hun- 
dred and forty thousand pounds sterling : If Mr. 
Hopkins is at Cape Fear, would it not be a good 
measure to inform him, how sure a prey these ships 
at Norfolk, with their immense treasure of goods, 
arms, ammunition, and other military stores would 
be to him, were he to come into the Capes of Vir- 
ginia ? It is not probable our fleet can keep the 
sea much longer, a number of British ships of war 
being expected soon on the American coast ; this 
last mentioned stroke would then be a glorious 
conclusion; and if it should be necessary after- 
wards to keep in a safe harbour, by erecting a bat- 
tery at the mouth of the river leading to Norfolk, 
the navy of Great Britain might be, from the na- 
ture of the navigation, prevented from getting up. 
I am extremely anxious to know the state of your 
province, and of the state, number, and quality, of 
your troops ; any assistance which can be aftbrd- 
edyou by this province, as far as depends on me, 
you may commisnd. I should have se^ out before 
this, for your province, but the confusion, disorder, 



293 

and deficiences of Virginia, oblige me to pass a 
few more days in my present quarters. 
I am, Sir, with the greatest respect. 

Your most obedient humble servant. 
To C. LEE. 

The Hon. the Pres. of the 
Council of Safety, 
North Carolina. 



Williamsburg^ April Glk, 1T76. 
Dear Sir, 

A-S I know not to whom I can address this most 
important note, with so much propriety and assu- 
rance of success as to yourself, the crisis will not 
admit of ceremony and procrastination ; I shall, 
therefore, irregularly address you in the language 
and with the spirit of one bold determined free 
citizen to another ; and conjureycu. as you value 
the liberties and rights of the community of which 
you are a member, not to lose a moment, and in 
my name, if my name is of consequence enough, 
to direct the commanding officer of your troops at 
Annapolis, immediately to seize the person of go- 
vernor Eden; tlie sin and blame be on my head. 
I will answer for all to the Congress. The justice 
and necessity of the m.easure will be best explained 
by the packet, transmitted to you by the Commit- 
tee of Safety from this place. God Almighty give 
us wisdom and vi^or in this hour of trial. 
Dear Sir,^ 

Yours, most affectionately, 
To CHARLES LEE. 

Samuel Purviance. Esq. 
Chairman of the Committee^ 



jab 2 



294 

JVilltamsbnrg,^j)7-il i;lk, ITTo. 
SlE, 

i^ OT only propriety and decency, but an ear- 
nest desire to act in concert with so respectable a 
body, as the Committee of Safety, enjoin me to 
lay before them my thoughts, on some measures 
necessary for the defence and very being of the 
colon}^ 

After having considered the number and qua- 
lity of your troops, the state and condition of your 
arms, artillery, and ordnance apparatus, the weak- 
ness and disadvantages you labour under from the 
numerous intersectingrivers, themultitudeof your 
slaves, &c. I suppose to myself, that the enemy 
will make this province their immediate object ; 
and since the defeat of their schemes in North 
Carolina, by Colonel Caswell, it is the most natural 
supposition. I say. Sir, after having considered 
your strength and weakness, no circumstance ap- 
pears to me so seriously alarming as the disposi- 
tion and situation of the inhabitants of the lower 
counties, Norfolk, and Princess Ann ; but that I 
might not rest entirely on my own opinion, I have 
called together some of the field officers who are 
best acquainted with that district, and they unani- 
mously agree, that it will be difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to secure and preserve the province, unless 
these inhabitants, thus dangerously disposed, are 
removed from the very spot whei-e they can do 
such infinite mischief. I am sensible. Sir, that 
their removal must be attended with very conside- 
rable difficulties, and perhaps much distress to 
individuals ; but when the preservation and being 
of the province, if not of ihe whole continent are 
at stake, were these difficulties and distresses a 
thousand times greater, they must be submitted to. 



295 

I am in hopes, therefore, tliat the gentlemen of 
the committee will immediately devise some 
means for removini^ these people ; as well as their 
stock : at least their wives and children should be 
carried to a place of security, as hostages /or the 
good behaviour of the husbands and fathers. I 
should be extremely sorry to find myself under the 
necessity of destroying all their cattle, store, and 
granaries ; and forcing the inhabitants, at the point 
of the bayonet, from their homes : but unless their 
removal can be accomplished by some other 
means, I shall be constrained to these harsh meth- 
ods ; as otherwise, I cannot be answerable for the 
execution of the important trust committed to my 
hands. 

I am, Sir, 

With the greatest respect, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To 
The Hon. the Pres. 

of the 
Committee of Safety, 



nilliamsburg, April 19th, IT7G. 
Sir, 

JL HE disagreeable uncertainty I have been in, of 
the enemies' designs, from the circumstance of 
their being able to fly in their ships from one spot 
to another, hath kept me at Williamsburg. It is 
evident that their original intention was against 
North Carolina, but the apparently total overthrow 
of their whole scheme by Colonel Caswell's victo- 
ry, makes it more probable that they will bend 
their course to some other quarter ; whether to 
this province, or South Carolina, it is impossible 



296 

to divine. I am myself more inciined to think 
that this will be their object, as the numerous in- 
tersecting navigable waters present them such su- 
perior advantages ; though, at the same time, I 
confess myself in great pain for South Carolina ; 
the force in that province seems alarmingly small. 
I wish I could afford to detach from hence at least 
three battalions; but neither our numbers of men, 
the state and condition of our arms, nor the vast 
extent of this province open to attack, will admit 
of the thought. If Pennsylvania could spare 
three or four battalions for the defence of Virgin- 
ia, Virginia or North Carolina might detach the 
same number to South Carolina ; and as the army 
which was employed in the blockade of Boston is 
now set at liberty, I should imagine this force 
might be afforded us. 

We are so extremely deficient in arms, that I 
have been under the necessity of sending an offi- 
cer into the back parts of the country to purchase 
all the rifles he can procure for the continental ser- 
vice. The arrangement I have made of arming 
two companies of each battalion with spears, will 
render musquets and bayonets less necessary ; and 
the ease I find in reconciling the men to these kind 
of arms, is a flattering symptom of their spirit. 
The price of these rifles, I am told, will be five 
pounds each ; but as the article of cartouches and. 
bayonets will be saved, upon the whole, they will 
not be more, if so expensive. 

The defence and security of the capital rivers, 
with their creeks, is an object of so great impor- 
tance, that I have thought it necessary to direct as 
great a number of half gallies as possible, to be 
constructed with the utmost expedition ; but as 
the carpenters and other artificers in this country 
are so lazy a race of mortals, that it is in vain to 



297 

expect any fruits from their labours, unless there 
is a coersive power over them, I thought it the 
surest and safest method to estabhsh two compa- 
nies of carpcnterb on the same terms with those in 
the Jerseys ; the measure is absolutely necessary, 
and I flatter myself it will prove economy. 

The nature of the service here is such, the 
force not being collected into one point, but scat- 
tered in fragments, that a greater number of sub- 
ordinate staft' officers are rtquis.ite than in th<j 
Northern and Eastern armies. I have therefore 
taken die liberty, till the pleasure of the C()n_s;iess 
is further known, to iippoint a few who could not 
be dispensed with : inclosed is a list of them. 

The Committee of Safety, I find, Sir, had not 
apprized you of their having already raised a 
company of artillery, and appointed officers. Cap- 
tain Innes who was placed at the head of it, though 
he professes himself utterly igaormt of this par- 
ticular branch, is a man of great zeal, capacity 
and merit ; and as there is a vacant majority in 
the ninth, or Captain Flemmlng's regiment, I have 
ventured to appoint him to act in that station, in 
hopes that Congress will confirm his commission. 
A body of horse is a sine qua non in a country cir- 
cumstanced like this ; I take the liberty of enclo- 
sing you an address I published to the young gen- 
tlemen of this colony on the subject, and wish it 
may meet with your approbation. 

I shall make Monsieur Arundel accountable 
for the sixty dollars, but at the same time beg leave 
to submit to the consideration of the Congress, 
whether the expences of his journey should not 
be allowed ; they amount to thirty dollars : indeed 
the pay of the artillery officers and engineers is so 
wretched, that I do not see any chance of procu- 
ring men fit for the service on the terms ; and if 



298 

they are procured, they cannot possibly subsist, 
unless the expejices of their frequent journeys are 
paid; for they are obliged, from the nature ol their 
business, to make more journeys than other offi- 
cers, and not in corps, but singly ; I have been 
obliged to subsist Baron Massenburg, as likewise 
to furnish Captain Smith, who is now at York, 
with money for his expences. 

I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 
Your most obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
His Excellency 
John Hancock, Pres. 

of the 
Continental Congress. 



Wtlliamsburg, April 19, 1776. 
Sib, 

A.S I am an entire strangep to the character, in- 
tegrity and abilities of individuals in this country, 
I must request the gentlemen of ihe committee, 
will appoint, or recommend positively, a proper 
person as commissary. He should be a man of 
activity without doubt ; but his integrity is still 
more important, as he has it in his power, if incli- 
ned, to rob the public most horribly. 
I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
John Page, Esq. V. P. 
of the Committee. 

Suffolk, Afril 2Stf, 1776- 
SiK, 

Jl OU are to march this night to Brickels: Leave 
the entrenching: tools under'the care of the com- 



299 

manding officer of that post, with directions to for- 
tify, as well as he is able, a post capable of contain- 
ing tliree hundred men. To-inorrovv you are to 
proceed to Portsmouth with all the waggons ; you 
are to post your party in such an advantageous si- 
tuation, that no insult from the enemy can |3e ap- 
prehended. You are to secure Shedden'^, and 
Mitchel's effects, and send them up immeyf^iately. 
You are to secure the persons of Jarvia, Muter, 
and Mitchel, as well as their effects ; Mrs. Grimes, 
with her effects, are likewise immediately to be 
sent up. You are to procure the best intelligence 
what men are on board Lord Dunmore's fleet, who 
have families at Portsmouth ; the wives atid chil- 
dren of these men are to be sent up to Suffolk im- 
mediately. You are to apprize the rest of the in- 
habitants that they must quit Portsmouth in five 
days ; that waggons shall be allowed for their beds, 
clothes, and absolute necessary cooking utensils ; 
their tables, chairs, and other cooking utensils, 
cannot be carried off" at the public expence. 

All the negroes capable of bearing arms to b • 
secured immediately, and sent up to Suffolk. Mr 
Bovvnas and company's property is to be collected 
and brought out of their present dangerous situa- 
tion. 

You are to order any detachment you shall meet 
with, from Colonel Fipp's corps, immediately to 
return to their command. 

CHARLES LEE, Major General. 
To Colonel Mughlenburg. 



Williamsburg, May itli, 1T76. 
Sir, 

JL HE committee will, I hope excuse my not ha- 
ving yesterday made a report to them fas I think 



500 

it my duty,) of every transaction which is not 
merely military ; but they were so much employed 
in the busi' ess of the Princess Ann petition, that 
I thought it better not to enter on the subject. 
As I found that the inhabitants of Portsmouth 
had universally taken the oath to Lord Dunmore, 
and as that town was, I believe, justly censidered 
as the great channel through which his Lordship 
received the most exact and minute intelligence 
of all our mo'ions and designs, i thougiit it in- 
curabent on me, and agreeable to the spirit of 
your instructions, to remove the people without 
exception; for even the women and clnldien had 
learnt the art, and practised with address, the office 
of spies. A con-ideral)le quantity of very valu- 
able articles were f.;und in the houses of Mrs. 
Sprowle, Goodrich, and Null Jantieson, such as 
molasses, salt and other tlvin^-s much wanted for 
the public. A list of these articles will be made 
out by the officer commanding the party, and laid 
before your board. 

As the town of Portsmouth will afford so con- 
venient shelter and quarters to refresh the enemy, 
on a supposition that they make this part of the 
world their object, it uoukl perhaps be politic to 
destroy it totally ; but the houses of some of the 
most notorious traitors I thought absolutely neces- 
sary to demolish, in hopes of intimidating the 
neighbourhood from trifling any longer, and fly- 
ing in the face of your ordinances ; for it is in- 
conceivable, unless I have been grossly misin- 
formed, into what barefaced open intercourse 
with the enemy they had been encouraged by no 
exumples having been made. Spiowlt^'s, G(^od- 
rich's, Jamieson's and Ski ddan's houses were on 
this principle destroyed ; tl,^ last, Skeddan, now 
a prisoner at Suffolk, accused, and, I believe, con- 



301 

victed, of having been on board Lord Dunmore's 
fleet, since his acquittal by the committee of Nor- 
folk. As we had undoubted intelligence that the 
fleet and army of Lord Dunmore were amply and 
regularly supphed with provisions and refresh- 
ments of every kind, from that tract of country 
lying between the sovithern and eastern branches, 
as well as from Tanner's Creek, notwithstanding 
the positive ordinances levelled against this spe- 
cies of treason ; and as from a habit of any sort of 
action, be it ever so heinous, he who commits it, 
infaUibly, in the end, persuades himself there is 
no crime in at all : so these worthies not only every 
day openly and constantly carried on this danger- 
ous commerce, but it is said justified it in their 
conversation ; it, therefore, Sir, in my opinion, as 
well as of the other officers, and the committee of 
gentlemen from Suffolk, became indispensably ne- 
cessary to take some vigorous steps on the spot, 
which might intimidate the whole knot of these 
miscreants from their pernicious traffic. 

A Mr. Hopkins, infamous for his principles and 
conduct, and who has a son now a soldier in Dun- 
more's army, was fortunately the first man detect- 
ed ; he was seized in his return from the fleet. 
He prevaricated and perjured himself very hand- 
somely on the occasion ; but at length the fact was 
proved, and he confesssed. The sentiments of the 
committee and other officers concurring with my 
own, we determined, after having siezed his furni- 
ture, to set his house on fire in his presence : This 
step was not quite consistent with the regular mode 
of proceeding ; but there are occasions, when the 
necessity will excuse deviations, and this I hope 
will appear to tiie committee to be one of these oc- 
casions. I must here, genUemen, beg leave to re- 
peat my assurances, that if ever in my military 

cc 



302 

capacity, I should fall into any measure, which is 
more properly within the province of the civil, it 
will entirely proceed from mistake, or inadverten- 
cy, never from design; and upon these occasions, 
so far from being offended by the admonition, or 
even reprimand, of your committees, I shall think 
myself obliged to them. 

I am. Sir, with the greatest respect, 

Your most obedient humble servant. 
To CHARLES LEE. 

Edmund Pendleton, 

Pres. of the 
Comm. of Safetv. 



IVilliamsburg, May 7//<, 17T6. 
Sir, 

I. FIND the part I have acted in the business of 
Mr. Eden, has given great umbrage to the coun- 
cil of Maryland ; I take the liberty of enclosing a 
copy of my letter to that board on the occasion; as 
I hope it will appear to the Congress, a full expla- 
nation and justification of my conduct, I shall not 
trouble them any more on the subject. 

Five transports with troops are arrived at Cape 
Fear; I shall therefore set out on Thursday for Wil- 
mington, by the way of Halifax. When we con- 
sider. Sir, the vast extent of the vulnerable parts 
of this country; the numerous navigable inter- 
secting waters, the multitude of slaves ; that we 
have not more than five thousand regulars fit for 
duty in the province ; that of these five thousand 
not more than three are properly armed ; that to 
arm them, defective as they are, the province has 
been drove to the necessity of disarming the minute 
men ; I say, Sir, that when these circumstances are 
considered, I shall appear, I hope, reasonable, in 



li 



303 

entreating the Congress to spare us, if possible, 
some battalions, and of those battalions which are 
best arnned. If indeed our minute men were 
properly furnished with musquets and ammuni- 
tion ; if our rivers were already secured in the 
manner I propose ; I should think myself capable 
of baffling all their attempts with our present 
force ; but situated as we arc, my an.xiety for the 
common safety obhges me to solicit a reinforce- 
ment. A letter from one of your members in- 
forms me, that five thousand blankets, and five 
thousand pair of shoes, are on the road for the use 
of this army ; they were much wanted ; the num- 
ber is, I believe, sufficient. We are as I obser- 
ved before, wretchedly in want of medicines, as 
well as of a director to our hospital. Doctor 
M'Clurg is a very able man, and universally es- 
teemed, qualified for the office : the pay of the re- 
gimental surgeons established by Congress is so 
low, that it is in this part of the world, where the 
common country practice of surgery is singularly 
lucrative, impossible to find capable men, who w^ill 
accept ; but I am in hopes that the convention wall 
make such additions out of the^ provincial purse, 
as to enable us to fill the commissions with proper 
and competent persons : Now I am on the subject 
of pay, sir, I must beg leave to urge the necessity 
of considerably increasing that of the engineers. 
It is impossible that men, qualified for this impor- 
tant office, should be prevailed upon to serve on 
such miserable terms. You have no American 
engineers ; they must of course be foreigners ; 
and foreigners expect, in their language, de quoi 
manger y that is, something which will enable them 
to eat and drink. Twenty dollars per month will 
not enable them to eat and drink, and wear linen, 
or indeed any kind of clothes ; besides, it must 



304 

be considered, that these gentlemen are obliged., 
by the nature of their duty, to make more jour- 
neys than any other officers ; that horses must be 
purchased and fed ; that the expenses of travel- 
ling in these Southern provinces are very high ; 
from these reasons ?nd many others, the pay of 
engineers ought to be, as it is in all other services, 
greater than that of other officers. Upon the 
whole, sir, I really do not think that they ought or 
can do with less than forty dollars per month, and 
rations at least for their horses. On more mode- 
ate terms I am persuaded you cannot procure men 
equal to the task : as the corps is distinct, and 
not numerous, this necessary addition of pay will 
be an expence beneath the consideration of Con- 
gress. 

Colonel Richard Henry Lee informs me, that it 
was not the intention of the Congress, that Cap- 
tain Innis's company should be reduced, to make 
way for ArundePs ; but they should both be es- ' 
tablished. I think, sir, it would be a useless ex- 
pence. Captain Innis, who must, I am sure, be 
an excellent officer in any other department, pro- 
fessed himself ignorant of this branch ; his offi- 
cers were equally ignorant : Arundel has got pos- 
session of the company, and by his activity and 
knowledge will, I am persuaded, make them fit 
for service. Indeed, to establish an artillery com- 
pany, captain, subalterns, and non-commissioned 
officers, being entirely composed of novices, can 
answer no end or purpose. It is my opinion, 
liierefore, sir, that instead of these two compa- 
nies proposed, that the addition of thirty or forty 
men to Captain Arundel's, and two subaltern offi- 
cers, will not only be better, but that it promises 
more advantage to the service. 

As I am on the subject of Captain Arundel, I 



305 

beg icave to remind the Congress of wliat I men- 
tioned on the subject of his expenccs on the road: 
There is one circumstance of which, sir, I could 
wish to be ascertained ; it is the expcnce of the 
defence of these rivers, that is, the construction 
of row gallies, floating batteries, Sec. to be brought 
to the accoimt of the continent or of the prov- 
ince ? I wish to be informed on this head : if it is 
at the expence of the latter, I shall regularly pro- 
pose to the Convention, or committee of safety, 
every scheme which miay be attended with expence 
before it is entered upon. If the quarter master, 
general, or his deputies, when they dispatch an}- 
teams from Philadelphia with powder, or other ne- 
cessaries, were to purchase the horses throughout, 
for the continental use, instead of hiring them, 
the saving would be considerable ; for in this coun- 
try the hire is intolerably dear ; so great indeed, 
that I have ventured to order a number of teams 
to be purchased. 

I have just received a vague return of the for- 
ces of North Carolina, of their powder and can- 
non ; it does not appear that they have effective re- 
gulars, properly armed, more than two thousand ; 
of powder than two tun and an half; and as to 
cannon they are almost totally destitute. As the 
enemy's advanced guard, if I may so express my- 
self, is actually arrived, I must, I cannot avoid de- 
taching the strongest battalion we have to their as- 
sistance ; but, I own, I tremble ai the same time 
at the thoughts of stripping this province of any 
part of its inadequate force. I am puzzled how 
to direct my motions from the uncertainty of the 
enemies' plan, but not dispirited, as I am confi- 
dent that the Congress will afford me every relief 
in their power, and am not in the least diffident of 
the courage and zeal of the men and officers. I 
cc 2 



306 

have, as yet, heard nothing of Mr. Stabler the 
gineer ; I ought, in fact, to have at least half a do- 
zen ; for we have a variety of posts to throw up, 
and there is not a man or officer in the army that 
knows the difference between a chevaux de frieze 
and a cabbage garden. I wish the Congress would 
indulge me with Mr. Smith, whom I know to be 
an able and active man. 

I am, sir, with the greatest respect, 
Your most obedient, 
Humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
His Excellency 
John Hancock, Esq. 
Pres. of the Con. Congress. 



WilUamsburgh, May 9Hi, illC, 
Sir, 

As I am obliged, by the arrival of the enemy, to 
repair to North Carolina, and am not less prompted 
by my zeal and affection for this province, than 
obliged by my duty, to take every precaution for 
its safety before my departures on this princi- 
ple, I beg leave to lay before the Convention the 
following measures, which I conceive to be neces- 
sary : 

1st. To devise some means for establishing a 
corps of cavalry ; without which^ an army is so 
extremely defective in every part of the world, 
iindin none more than in this, for reasons which it 
might be tedious to enumerate. 

2diy. Without delay to order some able pilots 
of every river, to examine accurately the narrowest, 
part of the channel of each river ; what is the na- 
ture of the shoals which form these channels ; 
whether they are solid, firm sand, gravel, or rock .; 



307 

what is the distance of the nearest part of the chan- 
nel from either shore ; what is the nature of the 
shore ; whether it is high or low ; for I am san- 
guine enough to hope, when these circumstances 
are ascertained, the navigation of most of the ri- 
vers may be shut up to the enemy, by means of 
batteries, either floating or fixed. 

3dly. As these purposes cannot be effected with- 
out a large body of carpenters, smiths, and artifi- 
cers of every sort, to establish some companies of 
them, subject to the military laws ; for, without a 
coersive power, it is difficult in this part of the 
world to prevail on them to work. 

4thly. As I understand there are prodigious 
flocks of sheep and cattle on the islands near the 
eastern shore, and as my authority does not extend 
to whatever concerns property, that you will order 
immediately all this stock to be transported to the 
continent; and if this is impracticable, to kill them, 
as otherwise they may must indisputably fall into 
the hands of the enemy. 

5thly. As the eastern counties are from their 
great abundance of all the necessaries of life, so 
tempting objects to the incursions of the enemy, 
and as I Understand there will be no difficulty in 
procuring good men, I would humbly propose to 
the Convention, to augment Colonel Flemming's 
regiment to the same strength of numbers with 
the other battalions. 

I must now, Sir, beg leave to mention to the 
gentlemen of the Convention, a very important 
matter of consideration ; no less than the preserva- 
tion of the lives of your soldiers. The continental 
allowance to surgeons and surgeons' mates of the 
regiments is so miserably small, and at the same 
time, the common country practice of surgeons is 
so very lucrative in this province, that it is net 



•a08 

possible to find tneii qualified for the station who 
will accept ; and as I cannot venture to propose, 
to the Continental Congress, the increase of the pay 
of the surgeons of the whole army, merely be- 
cause this encrease is necessary in my division, I 
must submit it to the judgment of the Convention, 
whether such an addition, as to bring up the pay 
of these gentlemen to the original provincial ordi- 
nance, will not be money well and necessarily ex- 
pended. 

I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 
Yours, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To 
Edmund Pondlcton, Esq. 
President of the Convention. 



Williamsburgh, Marcli 25th, 1776. 
Dear Sir, 

JL know not v/hether, in the whole course of 
my life, I ever read any thing which so much mo- 
ved my pity and indignation as the late declara- 
tion, profession of faith, or political creed, (for 
I confess I am at a loss what title to give it,) of the 
Convention of Maryland. The instruction of 
your assembly to their delegates (which, inter nos 
was a most wretched piece of business) was Ro- 
man magnanimity comparatively with this snivel- 
ling production from Annapolis. They declare, 
that they shall esteem separation from Great Bri- 
tain as the last of misfortunes. 

There is a story of a Morocco slave, in the reign 
of Muley Ishmael, who pushed his loyalty so far, 
that when the monarch, in the gaite de cceur, had 
plunged his dagger into his breast he drew it out 
and most loyally presented it again to his sacred 



309 

iliiaster, who as royally,by a second stroke dispatch- 
ed him. This story is scarcely credible, but^the 
possibihty of the fact is now verified by the conduct 
of the House of Convention of Maryland. What! 
when aa attempt has been made to rob you and 
your posterity of your birth-rights ; when your 
fields have been laid waste, your towns have been 
burnt, and your citizens butchered; when your 
property is seized and confiscated in all parts of the 
Avorld ; when an inexorable t} rant, an abandoned 
parliament, and a corrupt pusilanimous people, 
have formed an hellish league to rob you of every 
thing men hold most d'ear ; is it possible that .there 
should be creatures who march on two legs, and 
call themselves human, who can be so destitute 
of sentiment, courage, and feeling, as sobbingly to 
protest, they shall consider separation from these 
butchers and robbers as the lust of misfortunes ? 
Oh, I could brain you with your ladies fans ! 



OMrks-lown, Junt i9th, ITTfi, 

ORDERS. 

As it now appears almost a certanty, (from the 
intelligence of some deserters,) that the enemy's 
intention is to make an attack on the city ; and as 
the General is confident, that the numbers and 
spirit of the garrison will prevent their landing, it 
only remains to guard against the injury which 
the city may receive from their cannon. 

The continental troops, provincials, and militia, 
are, therefore, most earnestly conjured to work 
with no less alacrity, than fight with courage. 
Courage alone will not suffice in war : true sol- 
diers and magnanimous citizens must brandish the 



310 

pick-axe and spade, as well as the sword, in de- 
fence of their country ; one or two days labour, 
at this critical juncture, may not only save many 
worthy families from ruin, but many worthy in- 
dividuals from loss of limbs and life. On this 
principle the General does not, simply in his 
capacity of commanding officer, order, but entreat 
the whole garrison, (those on the necessary duties 
excepted,) to exert themselves in forwarding the 
requisite works of protection. 

The colonels or commanding officers of the 
corps are to review their men's arms this evening 
at roll calling ; to take care the}^ are in as good 
order'as possible, and that they are furnished with 
good flints. The officers commanding the differ- 
ent guards are to do the same with their respec- 
tive guards. 

For the future it must be observed, as an estab- 
lished rule, that no artillery officer fires a single 
cannon without previously acquainting the Ge- 
neral. 



Fori Sidiiain, June Mlh, I'HS. 

Ij^ENERAL lee positively orders, that the 
screen behind the aperture of the traverse be 
immediately begun and finished with all possible 
expedition; that a breast-work of timber, six 
feet high, be raised on the rampart, so as to form 
a continuation of the traverse ; that a banquet be 
raised behind the traverse, so as to enable the 
musquetry to fire over. The present work round 
the near guard room to be considerably strength- 
ened : the parapet raised, and the ditch deepejr 
and wider ; a serene to be thrown up behind the 
entrance ; a facade of facines, or old timber, is ne- 
cessary to keep up the light sand of which the 
breast-work of this rear-guard is composed. 



311 

Cliurlts-town, June'ilsl, 177t, 
Sin, 

It is a certain truth, that the enemy entertain a 
most fortunate apprehension of American rifle- 
men. It is equally certain, that nothing can dimi- 
nish this apprehension so infallibly as a frequent in- 
effectual fire. It is with some concern therefore, 
that I am informed, that your men have been suf- 
fered to fire at a most preposterous distance. Up- 
on this principle I must entreat, and insist that you 
consider it as a standing order, that not a man un- 
der your command is to fire at a greater distance 
than one hundred and fifty yards, at the utmost ; 
in short, that they never fire without almost a moral 
certainty of hitting their object. Distant firing 
has a double bad effect ; it encourages the ene- 
my, and adds to the pernicious persuasion of the 
American soldiers, viz. That they are no match 
for their antagonists at close jighting. To speak 
plainly, it is almost a sure method of making them 
cowards. Once more I must request, that a stop 
be put to this childish, vicious, and scandalous 
practice. I extend the rule to those who have the 
care of the field pieces ; four hundred yards is the 
greatest distance they should be allowed to fire at. 
A transgression of this rule will be considered as 
the effect of flurry and want of courage. 

Those who are accused of transgressing, will be 
proceeded against, as acting from these principles. 
I have, Sir, the greatest opinion of your good 
sense and spirit, and flatter myself, that you will 
not only issue orders of restriction on this head, 
but that you will be attentive that they are vigor- 
ously put in execution. 

I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To Col. Thompson. 



312 

P. S. I am likewise informed, that your men 
pass without order, or orders, to Long Island. 
Is this wise ? Is it soldier like ? Is it to shew the 
enemy where our weakness is? 



Cliarlci-ionn, July 2rf, 177G, 
Sir, 

X SHOULD have done myself the honor sooner 
of informing the Congress of the attack made by 
the enemy's squadron on Sullivan's Island, and 
their repulse ; but conjectured, that by waiting 
a day or two, I might probably be fiitnished with 
the means of sending a more minute, full, and 
satisfactory account. My conjecture was right ; 
for yesterday five seamen made their escape, one 
of whom is a more intelligent fellow than is com- 
monly found amongst men of his level. Inclosed 
is a copy of their narrative ; some parts of it are, 
perhaps, too whimsical and trivial to merit the at- 
tention of Congress, but I think it my duty to 
present it as it is, without adding or curtailing a 
circumstance. I think, sir, I may venture to con- 
gratulate the Congress on the event : not only 
the advantages must be considerable, but the af- 
fair reflects no small credit on the American arms. 
On Friday about eleven o'clock, the Commo- 
dore, with his whole squadron, consisting of two 
line of battle-ships and six frigates, the rates of 
which are marked in the inclosed narrative, an- 
chored at less than half musket shot from the fort, 
and commenced one of the most furious and ini 
cessant fires I ever saw or heard. It was mani- 
festly their plan to land at the same time their whole 
regulars at the east end of the island, and of course, 
invest the fort by land and sea. As the garrison 
was composed entirely of raw troops, both men 



313 

and officers ; as I knew their ammunition was 
short ; and as the bridge by which we could rein- 
force, or call oiF the troops from the island, was 
unfinished, you may easily conceive my anxiety. 
It was so great, that I was in suspence whether I 
should evacuate it or no. Fortunately, while I 
was in this state of suspence, some ammunition 
arrived from the town, and my aid de camp, Mr. 
Byrd, returning from the island with a flattering 
report of the garrison's spirit, 1 determined to sup- 
port it at all hazards. On tbis-prlnciple I thought it 
my duty to cross over to the island, to encourage 
the garrison by my presence ; but I might have 
saved myself that trouble ; for I found, on ray ar- 
rival, they had no occasion for any sort of encou- 
ragement ; 1 found them determined and cool to 
the last degree : their behaviour would, in fact, 
have done honour to the oldest troops. I bep 
leave, sir, therefore, to recommend, in the strong- 
est terms, to the Congress, the commanding offi- 
cer. Colonel Moultrie, and his whole garrison, as 
brave soldiers and excellent citizens; nor must I 
omit, at the same time, mentioning Colonel 
Thompson, who, with the South Carolina rangers 
arid a detachment of the North Carolina regulars, 
repulsed the enemy in two several attempts to 
make a lodgment at the other extremity of the 
island. 

Our loss, considering the heat and duration of 
the fire, was inconsiderable : we had only ten men 
killed on the spot and twenty-two wounded ; se- 
ven of whom lost their limbs, but with their limbs 
they did not lose their spirits ; for they enthusias- 
tically encouraged their comrades never to aban^ 
don die standard of liberty and their country. 
This, I do assure you, sir, is not in the style of 
gasconading romance, usual after every successful 

nd 



314. 

action, but literally fact ; I, with pleasure, men- 
tion the circumstance, as it augurs well to the 
cause of freedom. At eleven the fire ceased, liav- 
ing continued just twelve hours without the least 
intermission. Whiit the enemy's intentions are 
now, it is impossible to divine. I am inclined to 
think, they will, if thej^ can repass the bar, bend 
their course to Chesapeak or Hampton Bay : per- 
haps shame and rage may prompt their land forces 
to some attempt before their departure : on my 
part, I shall spare no pains to discover their inten- 
tions, and baffle their schemes. 

As Georgia is a district of the command with 
which you have honoured me, I thought it pru- 
dent to request some of their members to a con- 
ference with the president of this province, and my- 
self. They accepted the invitation, and gave us 
great satisfaction from their intelligence and good 
sense : inclosed is the substance of their delibera- 
tion. 

The province is certainly of the last importance 
to the common cause, and the mode of protecting 
it, pointed out by these gentlemen, is, in my opin- 
ion, in all its parts wise and necessary. They had 
conceived a notion that I had powers to augment 
their establishment ; I assured them I had no such 
powers ; but both Mr. Rutledge and myself gave 
it as our opinion, that any expences manifestly be- 
yond their faculties which they might incur in the 
common cause, would be repaid by the Congress ; 
and in this persuasion we ventured to encourage 
them to augment their cavalry without loss of 
time, and make the proposed present of cattle to 
the Indians. Indeed, sir, without a strong corps 
of cavalry, I do not sec how it is possible to pro- 
tect these Southern colonies, and with one thou- 
sand good cavalry, I think I could insure their pro- 



315 

tection. From the want of this species of troops, 
Charles-town and its dependencies had certainly 
been lost, if the enemy had acted with the vigor 
and expedition we had reason to expect ; but a 
most unaccountable languor and inertness on 
their parts have saved us. If the scheme i pro- 
posed in Virginia had been approved and adop- 
ted, it would have been not only a security 
but considerable economy. The forage was 
to have been the only expence. Now I am upon 
the subject, I cannot help mentioning, that I have 
been informed that the project has been consi- 
dered by some gentlemen, as a sort of a pre- 
sumption in me, in arrogating such a power ; 
but I fancy the affair was not properly understood : 
I saw the immediate necessity of such a corps. I 
knew they could be raised immediately by these 
means, and at the same time I was given to un- 
derstand, by several gentlemen of the Virginia 
convention, that should the Continental Congress 
-disapprove of the expence (trifling as it was) 
there was little doubt of their convention de- 
fraying it ; but, in fact. Sir, the measure seemed 
necessary fur the salveition of the provinces, and 
not a day was to be lost ; which, I hope, wilt fully 
justify my conduct : and I must beg leave to re- 
peat my assertion, that without cavalry these pro- 
vinces cannot easily be defended. 

I wish some means could be devised of redu- 
cing East Florida to an American province. Had 
I force sufficient, I should, with your permission, 
certainly attempt it; the advantages would be 
great and manifold. The augmentation of the 
Georgian cavalry, I sincerely hope may be appro- 
ved of by the congress. Inclosed is the establish- 
ment and pay proposed for them ; I think the terms 
not high. 



516 

I shall now, Sir, conclude with expressing the 
high satisfaction I have received from the zeal, ac- 
tivity, and public spirit of the gentlemen and inha- 
bitants of this city and province, from the presi- 
dent and council, down to the lowest order of the 
people ; and with assuring you, that I have not, in 
my military capacity, met with the least obstruc- 
tion or difficulty ; but that we have all worked in 
concert and harmony for the common good. I 
most earnestly request you will pay my respects 
to the congress, and be persuaded, Sir, that I am 
most entirely and devotedly. 

Your most obedient servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To the 
Hon. John Hancock, Pres. 
of the Continental Congress. 

P. S. Lord Dunmore has, I believe, with him 
at present only one ship of war ; if any part of the 
continental fleet should happen to visit Hampton 
Bay at this juncture, it would defeat the whole 
scheme of the enemy's operations, at least for this 
campaign ; but it is impossible to say how long 
his Lordship may remain in this weak condition. 

Ckarles'toicn, July 7, 1716- 
SlR, 

-iyi.R. Rutledge will inform you by this express of 
the outrages committed by the Cherokees, which 
must be construed as the commencement of a war. 
As it is now certain that a capital and favourite 
part of the plan laid down by our enemies, is to lay 
waste the provinces, burn the inhabitants, and 
mix men, women, and children in one common 
carnage, by the hands of the Indians ; and as this 
part of the plan, though a piece of inhumanity, is 



n 1 «7 

certainly more big with mischievous consequent 
ces than the rest, it appears to meabsokitely neces- 
sary to crush the evil before it arises to any dange- 
rous height. Indeed if we avail ourselves of the 
event, it may prove a fortunate one. Perhaps 
we ought, in policy, to have wished for it. We 
can now, with the greatest justice, strike a blow 
which is necessary to intimidate the numerous 
tribes of Indians from falling into the measures of 
our enemies ; and as these Cherokees are not es- 
teemed the most formidable warriors, we can, pro- 
bably, do it without much risque or loss. I think 
then, Sir, that without a moment's delay, a body 
of your frontier riflemen should be immediately 
furnished, and march into the country of the 
Overhill Cherokees, and make a severe, lasting, 
and salutary example of them. The Carolinians 
propose at the same time attacking their lower 
towns, and, with the co-operation of Virginia, en- 
tertain no doubt of success. 

Clinton's army and Parker's squadron are pret- 
ty much in the same situation as when I wrote last. 
They daily, indeed, make some alterations in the 
position of their land troops from one island to 
another; perhaps for new air or water, of which, 
the deserters say, they are in great want. They 
tell us likewise, that considerable sickness prevails 
in the army, and greater discontents from hard 
duty and bad diet. The spirit of desertion begins 
to shew itself, five soldiers came over these 
two last nights, who assure us, that were they not 
on an island, from which it is difficult to escape, 
two-thirds of their army would soon be with us : 
lam myself inchned to believe them. Upon the 
whole, when I consider the difficulties which the 
enemy's Generals have to encounter, the temper 
and disposition of their troops, and the improving; 
Dd2 



318 

spirit of ours, I assure myself, that the game is in 
our hands. God give us more grace than to shuf- 
fle it away. 
lam Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE, 
To the 
Hon. Edm. Pendleton, 
Pres. of the 
Convention of Virginia, 



Charks-tou-n, July i^th, 1TT6. 
My dear Friend, 

X HAVE received yours, of the 28th of May, 
and did not think it possible that any thing could 
come from your hand to> give me so disagreeable 
sensations. You tell me a dark, mysterious story 
of a certain great General of whom prince Ferdi- 
nand has declared, si Von veut iin officier, &c. this 
great General in the clouds, will, it seems, gracious- 
ly condescend to serve America, on condition that 
congress will give him assurances of stepping 
;Over the heads of every officer but one, and this 
he submits to, only on consideration of the confi- 
dence due to an American. You ask my opinion 
on this subject ; but the palpable meaning of your 
letter is, to prepare me for a cessiqn of my rank 
in favour of some impudent adventurer. Buck- 
with is the man, as you conjecture, from his 
known political principles and military abilitieB, 
which are so transcendent, that I ought for the pub- 
lic interest to make a second sacrifice. I am not, 
I believe, naturally proud ; I do not think myself 
conceited of my tulents ; but to be put in compe- 
tition, much more to be spurned aside, to make 
room for so despicable a character as Buckwith^ a 



319 

generally reputed coward, (and a b d syco- 

pliant,) I say, to be kicked out of my station for 
such a creature as this, would swell a man more 
humble than myself into a trumpeter of his own 
merits. Great God ! is it come to this ? I am 
not, it seems, an American ; but I am not, (if I 
may so express myself,) Americanior ipsis Ameri- 
cajiis ? Have 1 not, such has been my zeal for 
your cause, once already waved my military claims 
in deference to the whim and partiality of some of 
your members ? Did I not consent to serve under 
an old church-warden, of whom you had concei- 
ved a most extravagant and ridiculous opinion ? 
Your eyes were at length opened, and deacon 
Ward returned to his proper occupation ; and 
Avould you now a second time, (do you think it 
consistent with decency, I may say, gratitude or 
common honesty) to load me a second time with 
a similar disgrace ? Have I betrayed any igno- 
rance in my profession ? Have I shewn a deficien- 
cy in courage ? Am I slackened in my zeal or 
industry ? What have I done to merit such an 
indignity ? What part of my conduct can justify 
your harbouring such an idea ? Have not I staked 
my fortune, life, and reputation in your cause ? Is 
there a service in Europe to speak proudly, (your 
injurious proposal forces me to it,) is there a ser- 
vice in Europe, where with some small reputation, 
and my powerful friends, I might not expect the 
same rank I now hold ? Have I not made myself 
a voluntary slave for the insurances of American 
freedom ? Have I, sleeping or waking, employed 
a single thought, but for her welfare, glory or 
advantage ? But enough of this — You ask my 
opinion, and I will freely, explicitly, and concise- 
ly give it to you. If the Congress supercede me, 
I will, I must obey ; but, I hope, in common jus- 



320 

tice, and for their own honour, that they will re- 
establish me, at least in part, in the easy fortune 
which I have forfeited, so as to enable me to retire 
from a service to which I am no longer thought 
adequate. Before I conclude, let me once more 
repeat confidentially to you, that if Buck with is 
the man, in whose favour you meditate so gross a 
piece of injustice, you will make a very bad bar- 
gain, as he is certainly, unless fame belies him, 
neither possessed of courage, abilities, or integri- 
In God's name, if a real genms, or acknowledg- 
ed hero, favoured by Heaven with a more than 
common portion of etherial spirit, should present 
himself, fa la Lippe^ or Bragansa^) receive him 
with open arms, as an immediate present from 
God ; invest him with the command of the whole. 
No man loves, respects, and reverences another 
more than I do General Washington. I esteem 
his virtues, private and public. I know him to 
be a man of sense, courage, and firmness, but if 
a hero should start up, endowed with the attributes, 
v/hich, according to my persuasion reside in the 
two I have mentioned, and who would charge 
himself with the mighty task of your political 
salvation. General Washington ought, and, I am 
convinced, would resign the truncheon ; but that 
a little, paltry, im.pudent adventurer should sneak- 
ingly stipulate for the second rank, when, if his 
motives were pure, he could be equally service able 
in the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth ; it is not to be 
endured, it is a gross imposition on common un- 
derstanding, and a grosser attempt to rob an indi- 
vidual. I must beg and conjure you, my dear 
friend, for such I am sure you are, to consider the 
delicate, perhaps, you will say, false notions in 
which soldiers are bred ; and that you will be 



321 

careful of putting to so severe a trial the sensibi- 
lity of one, who is most sincerely, devotedly, and 
aifecionately, 

Yours, 

CHARLES LEE. 
To * * * 

P. S. I am extremely shocked with the pallid 
complexion of your public councils ; is it possi- 
ble that such a despicable group as the Maryland 
Convention, should lay an embargo on the great 
vessel of the commonwealth ! Can you be so 
weak as to hunt for the chimaera, absolute unani- 
mity ! Why do you not advise the aggregate of 
the people to enfranchise themselves ? Your idea 
of quitting Canada from want of specie is to me 
inconceivable, when you can or ought to com- 
mand plate sufficient to purchase ten Canadas. 

^Charles-town, Juli/,29ih, 1776, 
Dear Sir, 

1 USED to regret not being thrown into the 
world, in the glorious third or fouiili century of 
the Romans, but I am now thoroughly reconciled 
to my lot. The reveries which have frequently 
for a while served to tickle my imagination, (but 
which when awakened from my trance, as con- 
stantly I considered as mere golden castles built 
in the air,) at length bid fair for being realized. 
We shall now, most probably, see a mighty empire 
established of freemen, whose honour, property, 
and military glories are not to be at the disposal 
of a sceptered tyrant ; nor their consciences to 
be fettered by a proud domineering hierarchy. 
Every faculty of the soul will be now put in mo- 
tion, no merit can lie latent ; the highest offices 
of the state, both civil and military, will now be 



322 

obtained, without court favour, or the rascally 
talents of servility and observance, by which court 
favour could alone be acquired. Sense, -valour, 
and industry will conduct us to the goal: every 
spark of ability which every individual possesses, 
will now be brought forth and form the common 
aggregate for the advantage andhonourof the com- 
munity. The operations of war will be directed 
by men qualified for war, and carried on with that 
energy natural to a young people. True unartized 
knowledge, unsophisticated learning, simple, ge- 
nuine eloquence and poetry will be carried to the 
highest degree of perfection. This to many, I 
am sensible, would appear rant, but to you, who, 
I think, have congenial feelings with my own, 
it needs no apology. However, I shall now en- 
deavour to deliver myself more like a man of this 
world. 

I most sincerely congratulate you on the noble 
conduct of your countrymen ; and I congratulate 
your country on having citizens, deserving of the 
high honour to which you are exalted ; for the 
being elected to the first magistracy of a free peo- 
ple is certainly the pinnacle of human glory ; and 
am persuaded that they could not have made a 
happier choice. 

Will you excuse me ? but I am myself so ex- 
tremely democratical, that I think it a fault in your 
constitution that the governor should be eligible 
for three years successively. It appears to me 
that a government of three years may furnish an 
opportunity of acquiring a very dangerous influ- 
ence ; but this is not the worst ; Tacitus says, 
plura peccantur^ dum demeremur^ qiiam diim offen- 
dimus, A man who is fond of office, and has his 
eye upon re-election will be courting favour and 
popularity, at the expence of his duty. He will 



323 

give way to the popular humours of the day, let 
them be ever so pernicious. In short, his ad- 
ministration will be relaxed in general, or partial 
to those whom he conceives to have the greatest in- 
terest : Whereas were all hopes of re-election pre- 
cluded, till after the intervention of a certain num- 
ber of years, he would endeavour to illustrate 
the year of his government by a strict, rigorous, 
and manly performance of his duty. These no- 
tions may perhaps be weak and foolish ; but such 
as they are, I am sure you will excuse my utter- 
ing them. 

There is a barbarism crept in among us that ex- 
tremely shocks me, I mean those tinsel epithets, 
with which (I come in for my share) Ave are so 
beplaistered : His Excellejicij ^ and His Honour ; 
The Honourable President of tht Honourable Con- 
gress^ or the Honourable Convention. This ful- 
some nauseating cant may be well enough adapt- 
ed to barbarous monarchies ; or to gratify the 
adulterated pride of the magnijici in pompous arisr 
tocracies ; but in a great, free, manly, equal com- 
monwealth, it is quite abominable ; for my own 
part, I would as soon they would put rats-bane in 
my mouth, as the Excellency with which I am 
daily crammed. How much more true dignity was 
there in the simplicity of address amongst the Ro- 
mans ! Marcus TuUius Cicero, Decimo Bruto 
Imperatori, or Caio Marcello Consuli, than to his 
Excellency Major General Noodle, or to the Hon. 
John Doodle. My objections are perhaps trivial 
and whimsical ; but, for my soul I cannot help 
starting them. If, therefore, I should sometimes 
address a letter to you without the Excellency 
tacked, you must not esteem it a mark of personal 
or official disrespect, but the reverse. 

The discontent of the troops which you men- 



324 

tion as arising from the want of regular payment, 
might have been remedied by General Lewis ; 
his warrant is undoubtedly sufficient for the pay- 
master : however, I have written to that gentle- 
man on this subject, and am in hopes that affairs 
for the future will be more satisfactorily conduct- 
ed. 

An old rice-boat which we converted the other 
day into a row-batter}*, has made a considerable 
prize ; no less than a brig with a whole company 
of the royal highland emigrants on board, consist- 
ing of two officers and fifty men: although they saw 
that they were inevitably our prize, had the impu- 
dence to throw their arms overboard, for which 
they ought to have their ears cut off, as it was con- 
trary to all the rules of war. 

I send you inclosed the state of the enemy's 
navy ; I think there is no doubt of their army 
having steered their course Northward ; on this 
presumption I shall direct my course towards 
Virginia, but first must assist to regulate the mi- 
litary affairs of this province, in the best manner 
I can ; th6ugh, in fact, that will be doing little ; 
the inconveniences of this complex play we are 
acting, of Duke and no Duke, are numberless and 
great. The president is thought by some to be 
the real commander, I am thought so by others ; 
in short, there must be no troops but continental. 
The council is at present employed in settling a 
more regular post. We have received none these 
eighteen days ; for my own part, I conclude the 
mail has been intercepted and carried on board the 
man of war. Seven tons and a half of powder 
were safely landed four days ago, at Georgetown. 

Adieu, dear Sir, and believe me to be 

Most entirely and sincerely yours, 

charlp:s lee. 

His Excy. Pat. Henry, Jun. Gov. of Virginia. 



I 



325 

Charles-Town, Aug.^, tTTfi. 
Sin, 

WISH I had been informed how I am to ad- 
dress myself in writing to the Board of War ; 
whetlier to the board in general, to the first 
members on the list, or to the secretary. I have 
ventured on the last mode ; if it is wrong, I hope 
I shall be excused and corrected. The irregulari- 
ty and tardiness of the post are now become a 
matter of my serious concern ; we never receive 
a letter from Philadelphia in less than six or seven 
weeks ; that from the members of the Board of 
War and Ordnance is only just now arrived, 
though dated the twelfth of June. I have been 
pressed, sir, by several members of the Conven- 
tion of Virginia, to establish a post for this dis- 
trict ; but am apprehensive, that it might interfere 
with the continental post ; however the conse- 
quences arising from the irregularity of the post 
are so very serious, that ail other considerations 
must be waved : In the mean time I am con- 
strained to the necessity of putting the continent 
to the expence of an express almost on every oc- 
casion. 

I am extremely rejoiced at the establishment of 
a Board of War ; for the business of Congress 
was so complex and heterogeneous, that it was im- 
possible they should give the necessary attention 
to the affairs of any one distinct department ; 
their regulations with respect to returns. Sec. shall 
be punctually observed. I have ordered General 
Armstrong to collect the returns from the different 
corps, to digest them into one, and transmit them 
immediately to the Congress. 

I am myself busied in arranging matters for an 
expedition into East Florida. It is much to be 
lamented, that these Southern colonies suffered the 

EC 



326 

whole of last winter to pass over their heads with- 
out preparing the means either of offence or de- 
fence. Not a single row-galley or armed boat 
was furnished by Virginia, North, or South Caro- 
lina ; were we provided with a moderate fleet of 
these sort of vessels, I think I could ensure the 
reduction of East Florida, an object, though not 
equal with Canada, is certainly of very great im- 
portance. Here the measures of the Southern 
Indians are concerted and planned, their treaties 
negociated and concluded ; here they receive their 
bribes, for their murderous operations, and from 
hence they are supplied with all the means and in- 
struments of war: from hence they have lately 
made some alarming incursions into Georgia, car- 
ried off a considerable number of negroes, and 
not less than two thousand head of cattle : they 
have likewise thrown up a post on the river St. 
Mary's, which, if suffered to remain, may prove 
extremely troublesome to Georgia, by affording a 
ready asylum to negro deserters. 

From these considerations, although I cannot 
think of laying siege to Augustine, having neither 
boats, horses, waggons, nor any other means of 
conveying cannon, ammunition, or provision for 
the purpose, I think it both a prudent and neces- 
sary measure to attempt breaking up the whole 
province of East Florida. It will be a security 
to Georgia, occasion infinite distress to the garri- 
son of St. Augustine, but above all, make a salu- 
tary impression on the minds of the Creeks, who 
now are thought to stand wavering. They pro- 
fess a good disposition towards the American 
cause ; but if, by a strong predatory expedition 
into the province of the enemy, we give an idea 
of our prowess aiid superior strength, they will be 
rivetted in our interest. If I was sure Mr. Clin- 
ton and his army had steered their course to New- 



327 

York, as the deserters all agree, and a letter which 
was left in Long Island confirms, (a copy of which 
is here enclosed,) I should, as I have nothing im- 
mediately else to do in my district, march in per- 
son with this party ; but the bare possibility of 
his being gone to Virginia will detain me. Eve- 
ry ship of the enemy has now repassed the bar. 
It appears by this same inclosed letter that they 
were more roughly handled than even the desert- 
ers represented. 

The Congress I make no doubt have been in- 
formed of the incursions made, and the ravages 
committed by the upper and lower Cherokees; an 
expedition I understand is furnished forth by Vir- 
ginia, against the upper nations ; another by this 
province against the lower; the success or mis- 
carriage is of the last consequence; I am there- 
fore desirous of forming a second line, or corps de 
reserve, and detaching for this purpose, a regiment 
of regulars, but have not as yet been able to pro- 
cure v/aggons sufficient for two companies. It 
will be necessary that Congress should make some 
regular establishment for waggons. I should 
think one waggon at least, if not two, should be 
purchased and appointed to each company of the 
whole army, and regiments made responsible for 
theirs respectively. Vi^e should then be able to 
march when occasion requires expedition ; at pre- 
sent it is sometlmeaaa much impossible to march 
an hundred miles, although the fate of a province 
depended upon it, as if the soldiers wanted legs. 

I hope the Congress and Board of War will ex- 
cuse my giving an opinion on a subject on which 
it has not been asked ; but I conceive it to be 
my duty not to remain silent on any affairs of 
such moment. I find, sir, that representations 
have been made, that many inconveniences 
would arise from putting the troops of this pro- 



328 

vince on the continental establishment. I can 
assure the Congress, that it is almost impossible to 
carry on the service, if they remain on the colo- 
nial establishment ; the difFerence of the laws, 
the distinction of rank, occasion so much confu- 
sion ; and the ridiculous farce of Duke and no 
Duke, we are playing, (the officers not always 
comprehending who is their proper commander, 
whether the president, or continental general,) 
occasions very dangerous distractions ; but there 
are other matters of more serious consideration, 
of which I shall not trouble you with a detail ; 
nor do I find that the officers of this province ob- 
ject to a continental establishment, on the contra- 
ry, all those I have conversed with seem desirous 
of it. Upon the whole, I think it absolutely es- 
sential to the public service, that these regiments 
should immediately be put on the same footing, 
,and be governed by the same laws, with the rest ; 
nor am I singular in opinion : the two brigadiers, 
all the officers of every rank, and the greater 
part of the gentlemen of the country concur with 
me. 

Colonel Muhlenburg of the eighth battalion of 
Virginians has been made very uneasy by some 
letters he has lately received with respect to the 
rank of his regiment. These letters intimate, 
that it was never the intention of the Congress to 
consider the seventh, eighth, and ninth, battalions 
of the Virginians on the continental establishment 
until they were entirely complete. That his re- 
giment never was entirely complete ; and that, con- 
sequently, after having so long thought himself 
on the continental establishment ; and on this pre- 
sumption having marched five hundred miles frora 
his own province, under the command of a conti- 
nental general, he now, at least, finds himself on- 
ly a provincial officer. 



Si29 

I have ventured to assure him and his officers, 
who are equally uneasy, that there must be some 
mistake in this affair ; in fact, the hardship would 
be so great, that I cannot believe their apprehen- 
sions are well founded. It was, if I remember 
right, notified in April, by the Committee of 
Safety in Virginia, that they were then taken upon 
the continental establishment ; and though in this, 
I may be mistaken, without the proviso of their 
being complete. 

It happened at this time, though not complete to 
a man, (for no regiment ever is complete to a man,) 
that Muhlenburg's regiment was not only the most 
complete of the province, but, I believe of the whole 
continent ; it was not only the most complete in 
numbers, but the best armed, clothed and equip- 
ped in all respects for immediate service; I must 
repeat, that I cannot conceive that it was ever the 
intention of Congress that the establishment 
should be filled to a man ; but that they should 
be competent to service in or out of their pro- 
vince. In most services when new levies are 
raised, one half of the proposed complement en- 
titles them to establishment. Muhlenburg's re- 
giment wanted only forty at most. It was the 
strength and good condition of the regiment, that 
induced me to order it out of its own province, 
in preference to any other. I certainly consider- 
ed them at that time as continental troops, other- 
wise I could have no authority to order them out 
of the province. 

I must now submit it to the consideration of 
the Congress, if it would not really be the great- 
est cruelty, that their strength and good condi- 
tion should be turned against them. It was their 
strength and good condition which carried them 
out of their province, where, had thev remained 
EC 2 



330 

and known that it was a necessary condition of 
their establishment to be complete to a man, 
they certainly could have accomplished it in three 
days. I do, therefore, most sincerely hope, and 
confidently persuade myself, that Muhlenburg's 
regiment will at least date their rank from the 
day I ordered them to march out of their pro- 
vince ; not only justice, but policy requires it, 
for you will otherwise lose a most excellent regi- 
ment. 

I often represented to congress how difficult or 
impossible it would be to engage or retain, after 
they were engaged, any engineers of tolerable qua- 
lification on the wretched pay established. The 
two appointed to my district have (as I expected) 
quitted the service ; it was indeed impossible for 
them to exist. Stadler, I hear, has entered into 
the service of Virginia. Massenburg is retained 
by this province, at fifty-four dollars per month, a 
servant, rations, and his travelling expenses. He 
formerly begged his di mission from me, assuring 
me, (and, I believe, sincerely,) he was zealous in 
the cause of America ; that he would willingly, if 
1 chose it, enlist as a common soldier ; but that to 
ride about the continent from north to south, find 
horses, and appear like a gentleman was impossi- 
ble. I could not in conscience force him to starve, 
so consented to his engaging in this service. I 
am now without a single engineer, and really know 
not how to carry on the business. I hope the 
Board will consider the necessity of supplying me. 

I shall now, Sir, conclude, with assuring them, 
that I am, with the greatest respect, their most 
obedient humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 

Bichard Peters, esq. Secretary 
to the Board of War and 
Oxdaanee. 



331 

Savcmnak; in Georgia, "25(1 August, 1T76 . 
Sir, 

X OUR letter, with the thanks of the Conti- 
nental Congress, reached me at Purisburg. The 
approbation of the freely chosen delegates of a 
free and uncorrupt people, is certainly the highest 
honour that can be conferred on mortal man. I 
shall consider it as a fresh stimulus to excite my 
zeal and ardour in the glorious cause in which I 
am engaged. May the God of righteousness 
prosper your arms in every part of the empire, in 
proportion to the justice with which they were ta- 
ken up ! Once more, let me express the high sa- 
tisfaction and happiness I feel in this honourable 
testimony ; and once more, let me assure the Uni- 
ted States of America, that they cannot meet with 
a servant (whatever may be my abilities) animated 
with a greater degree of ardour and enthusiasm, 
for their safety, prosperity, and glory. The pres- 
ent state of this province, its strength and weak- 
ness, I shall transmit to the Board of War, accor- 
ding to the directions I have received ; and let 
me entreat you to be persuaded that 

I am, sir, with the greatest respect, 
Your most obedient and 

Very humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
His Excellency John Hancock. 

Savannah, August Hth, 1T7^. 
Gentlemen, 

Any irregularity of returns of the forces under 
my command, will not, I hope, be imputed to me ; 
the extensive business of superintending the safe- 
ty of so vast a territory, as that which the Congress 
have committed to my charge, renders it impossi- 
ble for me to attend to the detail of the regiments, 



332 

or, in any reasonable time, to collect and digest the 
various returns ; but I have given orders to the 
brigadiers to be as accurate as possible on this 
subject in their respective districts, and have no 
reason from my knowledge of tie men, to think 
they will be deficient. As a thorough knowledge 
of the present condition of this colony, of its 
strength and weakness, is certainly a matter of 
very serious consideration, I shall lay before the 
Board the best and most accurate information I am 
able. 

Georgia is a state of much greater importance 
to the empire of America than generally supposed^ 
at least, than what I myself imagined before I vi- 
sited it. The variety of navigable rivers, commo- 
dious harbours, and fine inlets : the prodigious 
quantities of rice, and immense stocks of cattle, 
both on the islands, and on the main ; but, above 
all, the gentleness and salubrity of the winter sea- 
sons, with the conveniency of its situation for 
commerce with the West India Islands would ren- 
der it a most valuable possession to the enemy ; 
the Altamaha, a very noble river, already furnish- 
es a considerable quantity, and may, in time, fur- 
nish any quantity of lumber ; the garrison of St. 
Augustine, and, indeed, the whole province of 
East Florida, draw their subsistence from Geor- 
gia ; and, if all intercourse were with her cut off, 
that nest of robbers and pirates would probably 
fall to the ground, and, of course, the empire of 
the United States become more round and entire. 
These circumstances summed up together, must 
evince the importance of keeping Georgia or any 
part of it out of the hands of the enemy ; the 
means of doing it, demands the utmost attention. 
I have turned my thoughts to the subject, and 
shall beg leave to submit the result to the consid- 



cration of the Congress. The present state of the 
strength of this colony, consists of Colonel M'ln- 
tosh's battahon, a return of which, is here enclo- 
sed, a company of independent artillery, consist- 
ing of three officers and twenty-three privates, 
with about twenty-five hundred militia of all sorts; 
but in a very great part of these, (as I learn from 
the authority of their own captains,) very little 
confidence can be placed, their principles being 
extremely contaminated by a most pernicious 
banditti of enemies to the common liberty. M'ln- 
tosh's battalion is really a very fine one, (one of 
the best I think on the continent,) but as, perhaps, 
it might appear a harsh task, to insist on this bat- 
talion's acting with the necessary rigour against 
some of their nearest connections and relations, 
accused of being concerned in treasonable practi- 
ces ; it is my intention to remove them either into 
South or North Carolina, where they can be more 
serviceable, and have an opportunity of com- 
pleting themselves, which, in this state, frown 
the dearth of men is impossible, and replace them 
with an equal or greater number from South Ca- 
rolina. 

Such is the present condition of the strength 
of Georgia, very far from being adequate to its de- 
fence. My scheme for its security is, as row gal- 
lies, and armed boats are so well calculated for 
what is called the inland navigation, give them an 
infinite advantage over vessels merely sailing, 
which in these straight confined waters have no 
room for manoeuvring ; they will secure the riv- 
ers against the predatory incursions of the enemy, 
prevent the desertion of negroes, sweep the coasts 
clear of tenders : but, above all, facilitate the 
means of the different states mutually assisting 
each other with troops, cannon, provision, and 
other requisites, which is now effected with diffi- 



S34 

culties, slowness, and monstrous cxpence. Three 
gallies are already on the stocks in this port, and 
we have armed and equipped several boats with 
swivels, and one gun on the bow of each. The 
least of them capable of containing thirty men, 
and rowed with fourteen oars ; sailors, of whom 
we find so great a scarcity, are not' necessary for 
this species of vessels, the soldiers are competent 
to the business ; besides the equipment of these 
gallies and boats, I proposed establishing little 
forts or redoubts, in certain situations, on the 
tiver St. Mary's, Satilla, Sapello, and Altama- 
ha, which may enable us to make incursions 
from time to time, when circumstances require it, 
into East Florida, and render it dangerous for 
them to make attempts of a similar nature into 
Georgia. These redoubts, or little forts, will like- 
wise serve as places of rendezvous, refreshment, 
and retreat for bodies of horse rangers which ought 
continually to be patroling on the frontier. Such 
are the best methods, after having consulted the 
most intelligent people, which, in my opinion, can 
be devised for the defence and security of this 
State, unless, indeed, we could prevail on the pro- 
vince, to contract their frontier, by breaking up 
all their setdements on the other side of the Alta- 
maha, which to me, I confess, appears a wiser and 
more economical measure ; but this I am afraid, 
is not to be accomplished. 

I must now beg leave to lay before the Board, 
a matter of the highest concern, and which cer- 
tainly demands the most serious attention of Con- 
gress, as, unless remedied, it may not only distress 
the circumstances of the public, but bring a dis- 
grace on the American character; I mean the un- 
conscionable advantages which individuals, mer- 
chants, mechanics, farmers, and planters are suf- 
fered to take of the public necessities. If boats, 



335 

waggons, horses, drugs, clothing, skins, necessa- 
ries, even little refreshments, such as fruit or gar- 
den stuff, are vvanting for the soldiers, no price be- 
ing regulated, the extortion is monstrous: theex- 
penees of the war must not only be prodigiously 
swelled by this want of regulation, but the offi- 
cers and soldiers are disgusted to the service by 
the toleration of such impositions ; for instance, 
the Virginians and North Carolinians are so much 
out of temper with Charles-town on this head, that 
,should it be again attacked, and the assistance of 
these troops be again requisite, I am afraid we shall 
find a dangerous repugnance in them to march, 
when ordered. I most devoutly wish, therefore, 
that the congress will make it an object to remedy 
this evil. Might they not recommend or enjoin 
to the legislatures of the different states, to appoint 
a committee of assessors, from their respective 
bodies to fix the prices of the different articles in 
their provinces ? Whether this method is or is not 
proper, I cannot pretend to say ; but something, I 
must repeat should be done. 

The waste, difficulty, and expence arising from 
a want of method in provisioning the troops, 
when assembled in any particular spot, upon an 
emergency, are so great, that magazines ought to 
be established in every province, more particu- 
larly in those, which have the greatest probabili- 
ty of being attacked : by these means, the troops 
will not only be better fed, but be an immense 
saving to the continent ; for the contractors, not 
being pressed for time, can at their leisure, pur- 
chase every species of necessaries in these parts, 
where they are best and cheapest ; but, when a 
great and sudden demand is made, either for cat- 
tle, corn, spirits, &c. they are under a necessity of 
taking that which is next at hand, and giving the 
sellers their own price. On this consideration, in 



336 

concurrence with the president and council of 
South Cai ohna, I have thought it expedient to es- 
tabhsh some magazines in South Carolina, of pork, 
beef, corn, &c. besides straw and whiskey, which, 
in these low damp countries, are absolutely neces- 
sary ; at all events, this establishment can be no loss 
to the continent, as the beef and pork, at least, 
can always, with advantage, be exported to the 
West Indies. Were I at a less distance from the 
Congress, I should not take the liberty of laying 
out a single dollar without having obtained their 
approbation ; but, at this distance, I must assume 
such a power, or let the public affairs go to wreck, 
and of course, prove my.,elf totally unworthy of 
the great trust the Congress have reposed in me. 
I am, Gentlemen, 

With the greatest respect. 

Your most obedient, and 
Very humble servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
The Board of 
War and Ordnance. 



Savannah^ Aiig. SOih, 1T76. 



Sir, 



It will be necessary in addressing a letter of 
this nature, so abruptly to your excellency, that 
I should inform you who the writer is. I have 
served as lieutenant-colonel in the English service, 
colonel in the Portuguese, afterwards as aid du 
camp to his Polish majesty, with the rank ot ma- 
jor general. Having purchased a small estate in 
America, I had determined to retire, for the re- 
mainder of my days, to a peaceful asylum : when 
the tyranny of the ministry, and court of Great 
Britain, forced this continent to arms, for the 
preservation of their liberties, I was called, by the 



337 

voice of the people, to the rank of second in com- 
mand. I make no doubt of this knter's being 
kindly received by your Excellency, both in the 
character of a good Frenchman, and friend to 
humanity. The present conjuncture of affairs 
renders the interest of France and oi this conti- 
nent one and the same thing ; every observation 
drawn from history must evince, that it was the 
exclusive commerce of these colonies, which en- 
abled Great Britain to cope with France, gave to 
her a decided superiority in marine, and, of 
course, enabled her in the frequent wars betwixt 
the two nations to reduce her rival to the last 
extremity. This was the case, so peculiarly in the 
last war, that had the British ministry persevered, 
Heaven knows what would have been the fate of 
France. It follows, that if France can obtain the 
monopoly, or the greater part of this commerce, 
her opulence, strength, and prosperity, must grow 
to a prodigious heigiit ; and nothing can be more 
certain, than that if America is enabled to preserve 
the independence she has now declared, the great- 
er part of this commerce, if not the monopoly, 
must fall to the share of France. 

The imaginary plans of conquest of Lewis the 
Fourteenth, had they been realized, would not 
have established the power of that monarchy, on 
so solid and permanent a basis, as the simple as- 
sistance, or rather friendly intercourse with this 
continent, will inevitably give. Without injustice, 
or the colour of injustice, but, on the contrary, 
only assuming the patronage of the rights of man- 
kind, France has, now in her power to become 
not only the greatest, but the most truly glorious 
monarchy which has appeared on the stage ot the 
world. In the first place, her possessions in the 
islands will be secured against all possibility of at- 

Ff 



338 

tack ; the royal revenues immensely increased, 
her people eased of their present burdens, an 
eternal incitement be presented to their industry, 
and the means of increase by the facility of pro- 
viding sustenance for their flimilies multiplied. In 
short, there is no saying what degree of eminence, 
happiness, and glory, she may derive from the in- 
dependence of this continent. Some visionary 
writers have indeed asserted, that could this coun- 
try once shake oft' her European trammels, it 
would soon become more formidable alone, from 
the virtue and energy, natural to a young people, 
than Great Britain with her colonies united in a 
state of dependency. But the men who have 
built such hypotheses must be utter strangers to 
the manners, genius, disposition, turn of mind, 
and circumstances of the continent. Their dis- 
position is manifestly to agriculture, and the sim- 
ple life of shepherds. As long as vast tracts of 
land remain unoccupied, to which they can send 
colonies (if I may so express it) of their offspring, 
they will never entertain a thought of marine or 
manufactures. Their ideas are solely confined 
to labour and to planting, for those nations, who 
can, on the cheapest terms, furnish them with the 
necessary utensils for labouring and planting, and 
clothes for their families ; and till the whole vast 
extent of continent is fully stocked with people, 
they will never entertain another idea. This can- 
not be effected for ages ; and what then may hap- 
pen, it is out of the line of politicians to lay any 
stress upon : most probably, they will be employ- 
ed in wars amongst themselves, before they aim 
at foreign conquests. In short, the apprehension 
is too remote to rouse the jealousy of any reason- 
able citizen of a foreign state. On the other hand, 
it is worthy your Excellency's attention, to consi- 



339 

tier what will be the consequences, should Great 
Britain succeed in the present contest. America, 
it is true, will be wretched and enslaved ; but a 
number of slaves may compose a formidable army 
and fleet. The proximity of situation, with so 
great a force, entirely at the disposal of Great Bri- 
tain, will put it in her power to take possession of 
your islands on the first rupture. Without pre- 
tending to the spirit of prophesy, such, I can as- 
sert, will be the event of the next war ; upon the 
whole, I must repeat, that it is for the interest, as 
well as glory of France, to furnish us with every 
meansof supporting our liberties, to effect which, 
we only demand a constant systematic supply of 
the necessaries of war. We do not require any aid 
of men, we have numbers, and, I believe, courage 
sufficient to carry us triumphantly through the 
struggle. We require small arms, powder, field- 
pieces, woollen and linen to clothe our troops; 
also drugs, particularly bark : in return for which, 
every necessary provision for your islands may be 
expected, as rice, corn, lumber, &c. If, indeed, 
you could spare us a few able engineers, and artil- 
lery officers, they may depend upon an honourable 
reception and comfortable establishment. The 
Sieur de la Plain, one of your countrymen, now- 
engaged in the cause of the United Slates of Ame- 
rica will have the honour of delivering this letter 
to your Excellency. I have no doubt of his being 
received with that politeness, and kindness, to be 
expected from a gentleman of your rank and cha- 
racter. 

I am, with the highest respect, your Excellen- 
cy's most obedient servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
His Excellency, 
The Governor at Cape Francois. 



340 
CHARACTER OF GENERAL HOWE. 

Camp at Valley-Forgt^Junt^th, 1778. 
My dear Rush, 

1. HOUGH I had no occasion for fresh assuran» 
ces of your friendship, I cannot help being much 
pleased with the warmth which your letter, deliver- 
ed to me by Mr. Hall, breathes ; and, I hope, it is 
unnecessary to assure you, that my sentiments, 
^vith respect to you, are correspondent. 

You will think it odd, that I should seem to be an 
apologist for General Howe : I know not how it hap- 
pens, but when I have taken prejudices in favour, 
or against a man, I find it a difficulty in shaking 
them off. From my first acquaintance with Mr. 
Howe, I liked him : I thought him friendly, can- 
did, good natured, brave, and rather sensible than 
the reverse. I believe still, that he is naturally 
so ; but a corrupt, or, more properly, no educa- 
tion, the fashion of the times, and the reigning 
idolatry amongst the English, (particularly the 
soldiery ;) for every sceptered calf ^ wolf ^ hog^ or 
ass have so totally perverted his understanding 
and heart, that private friendship has not force suf- 
ficient to keep a door open for the admittance of 
mercy towards political heretics. He was, besides, 
persuaded that I was doubly criminal, both as a 
traitor and deserter. In short, so totally was he 
enebriated with this idea, that I am convinced he 
would have thought himself both politically and 
morally damned had he acted any other part than 
what he did. He is, besides, the most indolent of 
mortals : never took farther pains to examine the 
merits or demerits of the cause in which he was 
engaged, than merely to recollect, that Great Bri- 
tain was said to be the mother country, George 
the Third King of Great Britain, that the parlia- 



341 

ment was called the representatives of Great Bri- 
tain, that the King and Parliament formed the su- 
preme power, that a supreme power is absolute 
and uncontrollable, that all resistance must, con- 
sequently, be rebellion ; but, above all, that he was 
^ soldier, and bound to obey in all cases whatever. 
These are his notions, and this his logic ; but 
through these absurdities I could distinguish, 
when he Avas left to himself, rays of friendship and 
good nature breaking out. It is true he was sel- 
dom left to himself ; for never poor mortal, thrust 
into high station, was surrounded by such fools 
and scoundrels. M'Kensy, Balfour, Galloway, 
were his counsellors : they urged him to all his 
acts of harshness ; they were his scribes ; all the 
damned stuff which was issued to the astonished 
world was theirs. I believe he scarcely ever read 
the letters he signed. You will scarcely believe 
it, but I can assure you as a fact, that he never read 
\hc curious proclamation, issued at the head of 
Elk, till three days after it was published. You 
will say, that I am drawing my friend Howe in 
more ridiculous colours than he has yet been re- 
presented in ; but this is his real character. He is 
naturally good humoured, complaisant, but illite- 
rate and indolent to the last degree, unless as an 
executive soldier, in which capacity he is all fire 
and activity, brave and cool as Julius Caesar. His 
understanding is, as I observed before, rather good 
than otherwise ; but was totally confounded and 
stupified by the immensity of the task imposed 
upon him. He shut his eyes, fought his battles, 
drank his bottle, had his little whore, advised with 
his counsellors, received his orders from North 
and Germain, (one more absurd than the other,) 
took Galloway's opinion, shut his eyes, fought 
again, and is now I suppose, to be called to ac- 
ff 2 



342 

count for acting according to instructions ; but, I 
believe, his eyes are now opened; he sees he has 
been an instrument of wickedness and folly : in- 
deed, when I observed it to him, he not only took 
patiently the observation, but indirectly assented 
to the truth of it. He made, at the same time, 
as far as his 7nauvais honte would permit, an apo- 
logy for his treatment of me. 

Thus far with regard to Mr. Howe. You are 
struck with the great events, changes, and new 
characters which have appeared on the stage since 
1 saw you last ; but I am more struck with the ad- 
mirable efficacy of blunders. It seemed to be a 
trial of skill which party should out- do the other ; 
and it is hard to say which played the deepest 
strokes ; but it was a capital one of ours, which 
certainly gave the happy turn which affairs have 
taken. Upon my soul it was time for fortune to 
interpose, or we were inevitably lost ; but this we 
\vill talk over another time. I suppose we shall 
see one another at Philadelphia, very soon, in at- 
tendance. God bless you ! 

Yours affectionately, 

CHARLES LEE. 



PMhtdtVphia, Oct. ?>Oth, 177T. 

When it is considered I hold a high rank in 
the service of one of the most respectable princes 
of Europe ; that I have been honoured with the 
trust of the second command in your army ; that 
I have hitherto served, with some reputation, as a 
soldier ; that I now stand charged, and have been 
actually tried for some of the most heinous mili- 
tary crimes ; and, to the astonishment, not only 
of myself, but I can venture to say, of every man 
in the army who was present at this court, and of 



343 

every man out of the army who has read the pro-" 
ceediiigs, found guilty of these crimes : when, at 
the same time, I am myself inflexibly persuaded, 
that I am not only guiltless, but that the success of 
the 28th of June ought principally, in justice, to 
be ascribed to me ; I say, sir, when these circum- 
stances are considered, it must be allowed that my 
present situation is extremely aukward; that a man 
of my military rank, lingering in suspence, whilst 
his fame and fortune are sub jiidice, is rather a dis- 
graceful spectacle ; that it is natural for him to wish, 
and reasonable for him to request, that Congress 
will no longer delay the final decision of my fate. 
An additional motive for my requesting it is, that I 
find Congress is every day growing thinner ; and, 
I confess, that I could most ardently wish, that 
the Congress was not only as complete as possible 
in numbers, but that if it was agreeable to the 
rules of the House, that the people at large might 
be admitted to form an audience when the discus- 
sion is entered into, of the justice or iniquity, wis- 
dom or absurdity, of the sentence which has been 
passed upon me. I do now. Sir, therefore, most 
humbly, but, earnestly, entreat, that a day may be 
immediately fixed for the final determination of 
this aifair. 

I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

CHARLES LEE. 
His Excellency 
Henry Laurens, Pres. 

Philadelphia, Dec. SOtt, 177?. 

y\ HP'.N an officer of the respectable rank I bear 
is grossly traduced and calumniated, it is incum- 
bent on him to clear up the affair to the world. 



344 

with as little delay as possible. The spirit of de- 
famation and calumny (I am sorry to s,=i> it) is 
grown to a prodigious and intolerable height on 
this continent. If you had accused me of a design 
to procrastinate the war, or of holding a treason-. 
able correspondence with the enemy, I could have 
borne it : this I am used to ; and this happened to 
the great Fabius Maxirnus. If you had accused 
me of getting drunk as often as 1 could get liquor, 
as two Alexanders the Great Tiave been charged 
with this vice, I should, perhaps, have sat patient 
under the imputation ; or, even if you had given 
the plainest hints, that I had stolen the soldiers' 
shirts, this I could have put up with, as the great 
Duke of Marlborough would have been an exam- 
ple ; or if you had contented yourself with asser- 
ting, that I was so abominable a sloven as never 
to part with my shirt, until my shirt parted with 
me, the anecdotes of my illustrious name-sake of 
Sweden* would have administered some comfort 
to me. But the calumny you have, in the fertility 
of your malicious wit, chosen to invent, is of so 
new, so unprecedented, and so hellish a kind, as 
would make Job himself swear hke a Virginia 
Colonel. 

Is it possible that the celebrated Miss F s,t 

a lady who has had every human and divine ad- 
vantage, who has read, (or, at least, might have 
read,) in the originals, the New and CUd Testa- 
ments ; (though I am afraid she too seldom looks 
even into the translations:) I say, is it possible 

that Miss F s, with every human and divine 

advantage, who might, and ought to have read 
these two good books, which (an old We.-h nurse, 
whose uncle was reckoned the best preacher in 
Merionethshire, assured me) enjoins charity, and 

* Charles XII. t I'^is young lady was a Jewess. 



345 

denounces vengeance against slander and evil speak- 
ing ; is it possible, I again repeat it, that Miss 

F s, should, in the face of the day, carry her 

malignity so far, in the presence of three most re- 
spectable personages ; (one of the oldest religion 
in the world, one of the newest ; for he is a new- 
light man ; and the other, most probably, of no 
religion at all, as he is an English sailor ; but I 
demand it again and again, is it possible, that Miss 

F s should assert it, in the presence of these 

respectable personages, " That I wore green 
breeches patched with leather ?" To convict you, 
therefore, of the falsehood of this most diabolical 
slander ; to put you to eternal silence, (if you are 
not past all grace,) and to cover you with a much 
larger patch of infamy than you have wantonly 
endeavoured to fix on my breeches, I have 
thought proper, by the advice of three very grave 
friends, (lawyers and members of Congress, of 
course excellent judges in delicate points of ho- 
nour,) to send you the said breeches, and, with 
the consciousness of truth on my side, to submit 
them to the most severe inspection and scrutiny of 
you and all those who may have entered into this 
wicked cabal against my honour and reputation. 
I say, I dare you, and your whole junto, to your 
worst : turn them, examine them, inside and out- 
side, and if you find them to be green breeches 
patched with leather, and not actually legitimate 
sherry vallies,^ such as his Majesty of I^oland 
wears, (who, let me tell you, is a man that has 
made more fashions than all your knights of the 
Meschianzaf put together, notwithstanding their 

* A kind of long breeches reaching to the ancle, with a broad 
stripe of leather on tlie inside of the thigh, for the conveniency of 
riding. 

f An entertainment given by General Howe just before the eva- 
cuation of Philadelphia, at which were introduced Tilts and Tour 
numents in favour of the ladies, of whom Miss F was one. 



346 

beauties ; ) I repeat it, (though I am almost out of 
breath with repetitions and parentheses,) that if 
these are proved to be patched green breeches, and 
not real legitimate sherry vallies, (which a man of 
the first ban ton might be proud of,) I will submit 
in silence to all the scurrility which, I have no' 
doubt, you and your abettors are prepared to pour 
out against me, in the public papers, on this im- 
portant and interesting occasion. But, Madam ! 
Madam! reputation (as " Common Sense," very 
sensibly, though not very uncommonly observes,) 
is a serious thing. You have already injured me 
in the tenderest part, and I demand satisfaction ; 
and as you cannot be ignorant of the laws of duel- 
ling, having conversed with so many Irish officers, 
whose favourite topic it is, particularly in the 
company of ladies, I insist on the privilege of the 
injured party, which is, to name his hour and 
weapons ; and as I intend it to be a very serious 
affair, will not admit of any seconds ; and you 
may depend upon it, Miss F - - - - s, that whatev- 
er may be your spirit on the occasion, the world 
shall never accuse General L - - with having turned 
his back upon you. In the mean time, 

I am, Yours, 

C. L. . - 
Miss F - - - - s, Philadelphia. 

P. S. I have communicated the affair only to 
my confidential friend , who has men- 
tioned it to no more than seven members of Con- 
gress and nineteen women, six of whom are old 
maids ; so that there is no danger of its taking 
wind on my side : and, I hope, you will be equal- 
ly guarded on your part. 



347 

Philadelphia, Jan. 28A, 177?. 
Madam, 

Nothing has happened to me of late, that 
has given me more concern than the serious light 
in which I am told you are persuaded to consider 
the harmless jocular letter I wrote to you ; I say, 
persuaded to consider ; for, on the first receipt of 
it, when you were directed alone by your own ex- 
cellent understanding, you conceived it as it was 
meant, an innocent Jeu d"* esprit, 

I do not mean to compliment, when I assure 
you, upon my honour, that it was the good opi- 
nion I had of your understanding which encoura- 
ged me to indulge myself in this piece of raillery, 
which is, in effect, not in the least directed against 
you, butagainst myself and some others; if it con- 
tains any satire, you are obviously the vehicle, not 
the object. 

My 'acquaintance with you is too slender to 
take any liberties which border on familiarity ; 
and I had been taught to believe, that the liberali- 
ty of your mind and disposition, would be pleas- 
ed with any effort to make you laugh for a mo- 
ment in these melancholy times. Upon the word 
of an honest man, if I had thought a single sen- 
tence of this trash could have given you uneasi- 
ness, I would sooner have put my hand into the 
fire than have written it. Thank God, I have not 
that petulent itch of scribbling, and vain ambition 
of passing for a wit, as to 

Give virtue scandal, innocence a tear, 
Or from the soft-ey'd virgin steal a tear. 

And, to speak my real thoughts, I am thoroughly 
persuaded, that you must suffer yourself to be bi- 
assed by people infinitely your inferiors in capaci- 
ty ; and if you really are offended by what nobo- 
dy, who is not below mediocrity in understanding, 



348 

can mistake for any thing but an harmless joke, 
founded on the good opinion of the person to 
whom it is addressed, I confess I have been much 
deceived in you. I must, therefore, think that by 
consulting yourself alone, you will consider it in 
its proper light, and believe me to be, with the 
greatest respect, 

Madam, 

Your most obedient. 

And very humble servant, 

C L ^. 

MissF s, 

Philadelphia. 

Praia Bio, Sept. Uth, 1779. 
My DEAR SISTER, 

JL HAVE just received your letter of January 
the 3d ; I know not whether you have received 
them, but in the course of this and the last year, 
I wrote you two letters, informing you fully of 
my health and spirits ; the two points which, from 
your natural tenderness and affection, I knew you 
must be most solicitous about ; they have both, 
thank Heaven, and the e-ood constitution we re- 
ceived from our father and mother, neverfailed me 
a single day ; and until I am conscious of having 
committed some unworthy action, which, I can 
assure you, is not at present the case, the iniquity 
of men shall never bear me down. I have, it is 
true, uneasy feelings, but not on my own personal 
account. I feel for the empire of Great Britain, I 
feel for the fortunes of my relations and friends, 
which must receive a dreadful shock in this great 
convulsion. As to my personal honour, for I sup- 
pose you allude to the affair of Monmouth, all I 
shall say is, that as I believe the proceedings of 
the court have been sent to England, and as you 



349 

have eyes to read, and capacity to judge and make 
proper comments, I may be quite easy on the sub- 
ject. 

What has not our quondam friend Gage to an- 
swer for ? I laboured at Boston, by a letter, to 
open his eyes, and he treated my efforts as the 
effects of republican insanity. Had he listened to 
me, the empire of Great Britain would have stood, 
the affections and allegiance of this great people 
continued for ages. He is, in fact, answer- 
able for the subversion of the British empire, and 
for the blood of, at least, one hundred thousand 
Englishmen, or the immediate descendants of En- 
glishmen. I fancy too, by this time, Lord Piercy 
and General Burgoyne lament that they considered 
my letters as the ebulition of madness or faction. 
But as my letter must be opened before it reaches 
you, any thing like politics must be improper. 
God bless you, my dear sister. My love to the 
Townshends, Hunts, Bunburys, Mrs. Hinks, and 
the Barrets. 

Youi's, most affectionately, 

CHARLES LEE. 
Mrs. Sidney Lee, 
Chester. 

Virginia, June 22</, IToCJ. 
My dear Sister, 

X HE other day, by a kind act of Providence, 
a letter of yours fell into my hands, of so late date 
as the 20th of March, and what is more, it had the 
appearance of never havingbeen opened. You will 
better conceive, than I can express the pleasure 
which I received from it ; for I assure you, that 
my American enthusiasm is at present so far worn 
off, that the greatest satisfaction I can receive, is 
to be informed of the health and welfare of mv 

eg 



550 

English friends, who, with all their political sins, 
corruptions and follies, still possess more virtues, 
at least as individuals, than all the nations of the 
earth. As to the Americans, though I once 
thought otherwise, when their characters are im- 
partially and minutely discussed, I am sure they 
will appear not only destitute of the personal vir- 
tues and good qualities which render those they 
descended from so estimable in the eyes of other 
nations, such as truth, honesty, sincerity, and 
good understanding; but, I am much mistaken, 
if the great public qualities which you at a distance 
suppose them to be endowed with, will stand a 
scrutiny ; but a scrutiny of this kind, in a letter, 
is not possible: all that 1 shall say is, that, the New 
England-men excepted, the rest of the Americans, 
though they fancy and call themselves republicans, 
have not a single republican qualification or idea. 
They have always a god of the day, whose infalli- 
bility is not to be disputed: to him all the people 
must bow down and sing Hosannas. 

You arc curious, my dear sister, on the subject 
of my finances, and are desirous to know whether 
these people, to whom I have sacrificed every thing, 
have shewn the same black inc;ratitude with re- 
spect to my circumstances as they have in other 
matters ; 1 can assure you, then, tliat their actions, 
are all of a piece. Was it not for the friendship 
of Mr. Robert Morris and a fortunate purchase 
I made, more by luck than cunning, I might 
have begged in the streets, but without much 
chance of being relieved ; not but that, to be just 
there are many exceptions to the general characlcr 
of the Americans, both in and out of the army, 
and I think the greater number are of the latter 
class, men of some honour, and who, I believe, 
have, from the beginning, acted on principle ; and 



351 

all these I may, without vanity, say, have been my 
friends and advocates. Among the worthies of 
America I reckon Mr. Robert Morris of Phila- 
delphia ; Richard Henry Lee of Virginia ; Ad- 
ams and Lovel, and some others of New England; 
the Morris's of New- York ; and Dr. Rush of 
Philadelphia. In die army there are many wor- 
thy to be mentioned. Generals Schuyler, Miflin, 
Sullivan, Muhlenburgh, Wayne, Weedon, Green, 
Knox, &c. 

I have been particularly fortunate in my aid du 
camps — all young gentlemen of the best families, 
fortunes, and education of this continent ; but 
above all, I should mention young Colonel Harr}-- 
Lee, who has signalized himself extremely in this 
accursed contest, the ruinous consequences of 
which to the whole empire, I predicted to Lord 
Piercy and to my friend General Burgoyne. To 
do the Americans justice, they certainly were not 
the aggressors, but the retrospect now is of no use. 
In all civil contests the people, in general, have 
not been the aggressors ; they only wish to defend, 
not to encroach. The monarchs or magnates 
generally commence by their oppressions. Wit- 
ness the disputes betwixt the patricians and the 
plebeians of Rome, and our wars in the time of 
Charles the first ; but the people in the contest 
forget the principles on which they et out, which 
ultimately brings destruction on both parties ; and 
this I extremely apprehend will be the case at pre- 
sent. I shall now quit the labyrnths of politics, 
and return to the subject of my own finances. 
Mr. Mure has used me most cruellv and villain- 
ously : notwithstanding the vast sums he owes me, 
he has j^rotested a bill of three hundred pounds, 
M'hich has thrown me into unspeak ible distress. 
He has affected a delicacy in honouring the bills of 



352 

a rebel ; but if he will consult the proclamation 
of sir Henry Clinton, in the year seventy eight, 
he will find that I am exempted from the appre- 
hension of confiscation by the terms of this proc- 
lamation, which declares, that no man, from the 
date hereof, who does not positively act in a civil 
or military capacity, is subject to the confiscation 
of his property ; but as 1 have reason to think 
that the man will avail himself of every chicane, 
when money is in the case, I must entreat that 
you will urge sir Charles Bunbury and Davers 
to endeavour to influence him, at least to furnish 
Mr. Garton, for my use, with five, four, or at least 
three hundred pounds until the contest is over, 
and the law, according to the terms of peace, tells 
us what is to be done ; but, at any rate, he, Mr. 
Mure, can have no claim as an individual to my 
fortune : he must account for it to somebody. 
I am extremely concerned at the embarrasment 

our cousin S gives you with regard to the 

legacy, but it is the very error of the moon ; she 
comes more near the earth than she was wont 
to do, and makes men mad. Is my worthiest 
friend Butler alive, and amongst you ? If he is, 
a thousand blessings, in my name, on his head. 
God Almighty, my dear sister, give you long 
life, ease, and spirits, is devoutly the wish of 

Your most affectionate brother, 
CHARLES LEE. 



FINIS. 



LHtiJL'-^£ 



